KINGDOM HEARTS: Another Story
by Enker
Summary: The worlds have connected, the dark times have come again. The fate of the worlds lies in the hands of a descendent of Sora, but dark forces are rising to meet her. And somewhere alone, a young boy awakens with no memory of who or what he is . . .
1. Chapter 1

**KINGDOM HEARTS: **_Another Story_

Written By Ben Warren and Laura Trout.

CHAPTER 1:

There was a sensation of falling . . . it was as if his entire world had risen up around him and then vanished, leaving him to plummet for all eternity. He could remember fire, and the sensation of heat all over his body, but his mind was unable to comprehend anything except for the endless falling . . .

_So this is what it is like to die,_ he thought. There was no other explanation for what he was feeling, death must have been imminent.

But it was not to be so.

---

He opened his eyes and shook his head to try and bring the world into focus. Running one hand through his short, spiked blue hair, he saw that he was lying in an alleyway, the cold wet cobblestones biting into his back. A strangely reassuring feeling considering that it meant he was stationary, and no longer falling. More to the point, it meant he was still alive.

Had he been falling? Or had he imagined it?

Struggling to stand, he brushed himself down and looked around. It was night-time, and the stars were out in the sky. Craning his neck to get a better look at them, he watched as one star - a long way away from the look of it - flashed brightly and then vanished.

"How strange." he murmured, and stepped forwards.

His boot caught something metallic, and fairly large, sending it spinning away. Bending down to pick up this new element, he found that it was a large broadsword, about a meter and a half long. With a fat flat metal blade, supported by a piece of blue metal running along each side through the middle. The handle was forged in gold, with blue material wound around the handle for the grip. Such a beautiful thing to be discarded. When he got home he would have to try and find the owner . . .

When he got home? Where was home?

Where was he now? He had no idea.

Who was he at all?

It stunned him to realise that he had no recollection of anything prior to his dream of falling. He _knew_ that he was educated, could talk and think and identify objects like the sword, but he had no recollection of who or what he was.

There was a sharp rasping sound suddenly from behind him, and he spun on his heels to look around. But there was nothing there, only the faded brick wall that sealed one end of the alleyway.

His hand tightened on the sword in his grasp, and its weight reassured him that he was safe. His head swam from the sudden movement of turning, it felt as if he were just waking up from a deep sleep.

"I . . ." he started, then shook his head.

Was it him, or had the sword in his hand looked like some kind of large key for a second?

Everything was spinning and things where still hazy. "Where am I?" he glanced at the sword in his hand again. It was once more the broadsword he had found. The grip fit his hand so well . . . it must be his, it simply must have been.

He made a few practise swipes and slashes into the air in front of him, fighting imaginary foes. Yes, the skill was there, he was trained with a blade.

But why couldn't he remember it? Why couldn't he remember his past? Everything was so confusing and too dream like.

Gazing at the long-thick blade of the weapon, he noticed something written on the hilt. Engraved there in a fine script.

"KNAVE," he read aloud.

Did that name mean something to him? He thought about it for a moment, and decided that it did.

Was it his name though? That was the question. Logic dictated that if this was his sword, then the name engraved upon the weapon must be his own. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to fit together in his head.

"My name is Knave." He spoke aloud, trying it out. There was no ill feeling about it, in fact he rather felt that he liked the title.

At least that was decided then until he learnt differently, his name was Knave.

A repeat of the rasping sound made him abandon his trail of thought. Long and drawn out this time, like a snake's kiss, it had come from right beside his ear.

Without really knowing what he was doing, Knave threw himself to one side and rolled away from the direction that the sound had come from, the manoeuvre saved his life.

Rising out of the shadows was a large wolf-like monster. It's skin black as night and only the beast's eyes showing any colour at all. They were red and insane. The monster swiped at the air in front of it with large broad claws from a strangely human hand, and was enraged to discover that its intended victim was no longer there.

Knave knew with a cold certainty that this thing had come there specifically to kill him, and without thinking he brought his sword around in front of him in a defensive position. The movement took him by surprise, on some hidden level he obviously believed that to stand and fight was the best action to take, or that he could beat this monster.

The thing came at him in a fury of teeth and claws, but he turned aside the attack with a whip of his blade and drew a thin scarlet line across its chest. It roared at him in anger, and swiped at him with it's tail, knocking him from his feet and sending him sprawling.

The two combatants circled each other slowly, each aware of the other's cunning now. Knave made sure to keep the defensive length of the sword between them, and the monster prowled around after him on all fours, in a position that suggested that it would pounce upon him at any moment.

From somewhere in the distance there came the ringing sound of weapons fire.

The beast lifted its head and sniffed the air, stopping the deadly dance between them and backing away slowly. The look in the beast's eyes was one of pure disdain, it's meaning obvious to Knave.

It said, "_you can wait," _and_ "I have more important prey to hunt."_

With a suddenness of movement that took Knave quite by surprise, the beast turned away from him and darted out of the alleyway at speed. Knave ran to follow it, but was unable to keep up.

He lost the monster as it left the alleyway, for the first time getting a look at the world that lay beyond that cold little corner. It was a town, brick and wood seemed to be the most commonly used materials for its construction, but metal and slate was evident as well. There were a few houses to his left and right, and down some steps before him lay a large square courtyard, overlooked by more houses. All built in a similar Elizabethan style.

Slowing his run to a steady stride, Knave stepped down to the foot of the stairs.

That was when he got his first glance of the runners.

There were three of them, and they were being pursued by no less than twenty of the same type of monster that had attacked him.

---

The three of them had been running for over five minutes now, and had managed to stay ahead of their pursuers until now. Three of the monsters swept around ahead of them, over the rooftops and dropping down to cut them off.

Reno was the first to react, the young man drew his pistols and fired six shots into the approaching mass, several of the monsters were caught in vital places, causing them to snarl and hiss as they unravelled and vanished, leaving behind a faint black mist. He went to fire again, but one of his guns jammed, and he threw it to the ground with a curse.

Stepping back to be closer to the group, he searched his pockets for more ammunition for his remaining weapon.

Surrounded now, the group stopped running, and began to bunch together in a crude triangle formation that faced three possible sides of attack. The monsters spread out around them, confident in their numbers.

One eagerly pounced forwards ahead of its fellows in its eagerness to be the first to tackle the prey. One of the two women, a young girl with angelic wings spouting from her shoulders, stepped forwards and made a small movement with her thumb and two fingers in the air before her.

Instantly a shell of white light appeared around the group that acted like a solid wall, the monsters attack smashing harmlessly against it, and it howled in pain as if stuck, but did not vanish. It quickly hurried away to join its brothers in the seething mass of teeth and claws that surrounded them.

Hakujou gave a grim smile and stepped back. Her magic would hold them at bay for a moment, but no more. Soon they would have to engage the beasts in combat, and their numbers were too few to stand up against such overwhelming odds for long.

"As soon as the shield falls, make a break for it. Reno and I will hold them here for as long as possible and try to draw as many of them off as we can. If all goes well we'll meet you back at the Hotel." She whispered.

Lirael, a slightly younger woman, and the last of the three shook her head so hard that her long dark hair shook about her. "I won't leave you." She stated.

"You don't have a choice. You have to get through to see Merlin; remember what king Mickey said?" the older girl retorted quickly, her shield beginning to shimmer and grow weaker. All around the strange black creatures started to close in on them.

Reno reloaded his gun in silence and took a careful aim at one of the closer beasts. Any second now the shield would fail altogether, and then it would be carnage.

Hakujou spun on her heel and faced Lirael, slightly taller than her friend, she had to look down. "If you fall here, then nothing can be done. Nothing can be restored. It will be darkness and shadows forever! So when I tell you, you're going to run. Understand?"

Lirael nodded her head once.

The shield shimmered in the darkness for a moment longer, and then vanished without a sound. Instantly Reno got off three shots in rapid succession that cast two monsters into mist and wounded a third. Hakujou started forward and threw a handful of fire that scattered the beasts directly in front of her and left a momentary route of escape.

"GO!" she yelled, and instantly Lirael was running through the mass of dark shapes.

One of them snapped at her heels as she passed, but a bullet from Reno's pistol shattered its skull and it vanished. The young woman ran on out into the night, clearly all of the attention was on Hakujou and the gunner as they fought on with a mixture of loud explosions and shots somewhere in the distance.

Not daring to stop and catch her breath, she kept running onwards, up over the steps and around a corner, a couple of the monsters peeled off from the main group and gave chase.

_Damn_, she mentally cursed and tried to throw them off by ducking into a sidestreet that went on a little way before opening out into a maze of smaller avenues.

She slowed for a second, convinced that she had lost them. The sounds of battle had died down now, and Lirael hoped that her friends were alright, but she could not risk going back to see for herself.

Leaning on a wall she came to a stop and panted for breath. Quite how far she had run the young woman had no idea, and she had no idea how long she could dodge her pressures, but it was a case of stopping now or collapsing from exhaustion later. And that could prove fatal.

Something hissed in the shadows ahead, and one of the beasts slipped out into the half-light where she could see it properly. Smarter than she had given them credit, they must have set a trap and then deliberately run her down this narrow street.

Moving more quickly than she had anticipated, it leapt towards her in a fury of teeth and claws, but she was one step quicker still. A golden light shone about her hand and a blade-like object appeared there, slashing out with it she delivered a powerful strike across the length of the beast that all but cut it in two. The thing burst into the same mist as the others had and vanished.

Deciding that it was too risky to stay in the streets, where she could be seen and cornered more easily, Lirael climbed up onto the rooftop and began to make her way across the flat tops of the houses.

Before Lirael could react, another beast sprung at her from somewhere behind, spinning on the spot she narrowly avoided the killing attack, but her weapon slipped from her grasp and spun away on the smooth tile roof as a claw grazed her arm. The bright light that it had shone stopping instantly the moment it left her fingers.

Moving quickly to try and find it, she was horrified to realise that the remaining two of the monsters that had followed her had her pinned between them. Her weapon nowhere to be seen, she crouched down low, her left hand gripping her right shoulder and closing over her wound.

There was no way out of this one. Unarmed and surrounded she could only try to escape if she saw an opening. But somehow she doubted that there would be one, these beasts where too well organised for that. Far more intellectual than she had been told they would be.

She dodged to the right and threw herself into a roll that avoided a swipe from the first monster, but the second one had anticipated this action and was already there waiting for her. It took the last of her strength to jump back a step and avoid the jaws that waited for her.

By then the first monster had recuperated behind her, and was moving closer. It raked a crimson line across her back with a powerful blow that sent her sprawling and made her scream despite herself.

Falling to her knees, she cried out again in anguish and flung up her arms to protect her face as the two monsters closed in around her to finish the job.

There was a flash of blue somewhere off to her left, and something leapt across the rooftops quicker than she could follow, and with a swift strike severed one of the monsters in half down the middle, pausing only to scoop something up off of the ground.

Black mist from the destroyed monster obscured her vision, stopping her from seeing who or what this new arrival could be, but she reacted on instinct and caught her weapon as it was tossed over to her. Flaring into life as it touched her fingers, she swung it around in a wide arc and sliced clean away the head of the remaining monster. It too burst into mist and vanished.

"Don't just stand there, run!" It was a man's voice, deep commanding. A hand appeared beside her and helped her to her feet, where she could finally see her rescuer properly.

He was a young man, about twenty-one, with short spiky blue hair and garbed in matching clothes that had once been fine, but were now ripped and faded as if burnt. His face was handsome, but it was his eyes that drew her in. They had a quality unlike any she had ever seen before, crystal blue that reflected everything around him perfectly, there was an edge of kindness there that suggested that he where a poet, despite the sword gripped in his free hand.

He pulled her along with him as he ran, and suddenly it became clear why he was so intent on moving. More of the monsters were arriving, chasing the two of them over the rooftops. Lirael's arm hurt like hell, and he was pulling her by the wrist of the other. But despite all of that, and instead of complaining she recognised that she was with someone that could help her survive this encounter. Her friends may be lost to her for now, but this man seemed to know what he was doing.

A beast leapt out of the shadows to her left, and Lirael used her shining weapon to destroy it without taking the time to slow down.

More of the monsters had caught the scent, and worse still they were starting to run out of roof.

A large gap loomed ahead of the pair of them, and to her shock Lirael realised that the man had no intention of slowing down.

"Can you make it?" he asked her as they ran.

"I'm not sure . . ." Lirael started to reply, but no sooner were the first few words out of her lips than he had scooped her up into his arms and put on an extra burst of speed.

Leaping across the distance, he hit the floor with a loud grunt and dropped her across onto the safety of the other side. The creatures, too large and bulky to make such a jump were forced to watch them from the other side of the expanse.

It was at that point that she was horrified to see the man slip and tumble towards the edge himself. His footing giving way from under him as he tried to scramble up the steep incline that marked the edge of the rooftop.

_He pushed me the last of the way_, she thought,_ but he couldn't make the jump and carry me!_

Lirael darted forwards and caught his flailing hand just as he was about to slip over the edge. Her fingers locked around his wrist, and in return he gripped her own for dear life.

There was a flash – a second of clarity in Lirael's mind.

She saw a vision of the Keyblade shining between the two of them for just a fraction of a second, and then it vanished. Shaking her head she put her mind back into the task.

It was only then did she realise just how much bigger than she was, and his weight could bring them both tumbling over the edge. Her wounded arm screamed in pain as she held onto him.

But to her amazement she did not fall. The young man had managed to find a handhold with his spare hand and was putting all of his weight onto it, obviously a last minute thought to save them both. But doing such a thing he was unable to pull himself up.

Bracing her feet, Lirael pulled and with a great sigh of relief he tumbled back onto the rooftop.

They were safe. They had managed to outrun the monsters and had brought themselves a moment to escape into the night.

"Thanks." The young man said and shook his head as if to clear it. She could see why, it was a long fall down and it would have put a fright through her. "I owe you one."

"Actually I think that makes us even." Lirael panted, out of breath from all the running.

The man nodded and stood up, looking around before leading her over to a low point were they could drop onto a lower roof and then find a ladder to take them to street level once more.

It was on the way down that things finally caught up with Lirael, and she slipped into unconsciousness.

---

Knave caught her as she fell and scooped her up into his arms, surprised at how light she was. Her pretty face was blissfully unaware, and he decided it would be best to let her sleep for a while. Evidently she had not had the chance to rest properly in quite a while, and so a little time out would do her no harm.

Perhaps there was an inn or something similar around here where she could get medical attention? He'd also be able to get something to eat there if that was the case, he had no idea how long it had been since he'd last had a meal but his stomach rumbled hungrily.

At least she spoke his language, that was something.

And what had that vision been when they had touched?

Something about it had sparked memories in his head, but now wasn't the time to ponder them.

Moving out of the cramped little alley, he walked her out into the early morning breeze. The sounds of battle had stopped in the distance, and he wondered what could be so special about this girl that her two companions had been willing to give their lives for her.

Looking for the first time at her weapon, still clutched tightly in her little hand, he gave a small sound of surprise. It was a large key, held in much the same way as a sword would be.

_Just like the one I saw in the alley_, he thought to himself.

Perhaps his meeting this girl was not such a huge coincidence after all.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

When she came around, Lirael found herself in a large feather bed. Sunlight was filtering in through a crack in the curtains of a large window situated above her, and she sat up after a moment and checked her wounds.

Most of them had vanished, all except the large rake across her back and the smaller gash on her shoulder. These had healed considerably since they had been inflicted, and caused her to wonder where she was, and indeed how she had gotten there.

Where was the Keyblade? She could not see it anywhere, and that unsettled her.

Standing, she found herself naked. Her clothes hung over a chair situated beside the window, and she quickly pulled them on. Looking in a mirror she made quick use of the comb left there, and brushed her hair back into a neat style.

She was just tying her boots when a knock on the door startled her and made her jump. A moment passed and nothing happened, and then the knocking came again.

"Umm . . . come in?" She hazarded.

The door opened a crack and a voice from outside asked "Are you decent?"

Lirael blushed, the voice sounded so young and thoughtful. She thought of her companion Reno, he would have loved to wander in and find her otherwise, but this fellow was generous enough to ask before entering. "Yes I am. You can come in."

The door slid open and she was surprised to see the man that had rescued her in the alley came in, bearing a tray containing fruit juice and toast with butter. His voice had been so different on the streets, quick and commanding, it seemed odd that he should be so gentle and polite indoors. He laid the items down on a handy dresser not too far from her and indicated them with an awkward smile.

"I didn't want to wake you until you had a little more rest, and the doctor suggested that you have time for her potions to work properly. I figured you could use the time out."

He'd changed out of the burnt clothes she had seen him in earlier, but it looked like he had kept his preference for blue, now he was garbed in a blue shirt and dark trousers.

Lirael lent forwards and looked at the food; it looked good. "For me?" she asked.

He nodded once and she quickly reached over and snatched up a piece of toast with one hand, buttered it and proceeded to take a large bite. She was feeling better than she had in a long while, whoever this doctor was she was defiantly good at her job. And the time asleep had done her a world of good as well.

The man reached out behind his back, and drew forth the Keyblade from its resting spot beside his own sword. He handed it back to her in silence and she murmured an apology around a mouthful of toast. "Thanks." She tried again and swallowed. "I was worried about that."

"You where holding it so tightly that I figured it must be important to you. When the doctor came I took it and looked after it for you in case something should happen." He confided.

_That's twice now he's touched it_. Lirael thought to herself,_ he shouldn't be able to hold it for more than a few seconds, yet he's had it for over an hour and it still hasn't vanished._

She sat herself down on the bed and got comfortable, moving the tray onto her lap. "What's your name?" She asked, buttering a second slice of toast.

The young man looked saddened for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision and answered in a stronger voice. "Knave."

Lirael stuck out a greasy, butter smudged hand and smiled warmly. "I'm Lirael, pleased to meetcha."

She looked down and realised the state of her fingers, and tucked them away apologetically before offering a clean hand to him, which he shook warmly.

"Those monsters in the streets . . ." Knave started.

"Heartless." Lirael quickly interjected.

"What?"

"They're called the Heartless." Lirael smiled and took another bite.

The name seemed to fit perfectly with what he had seem, and Knave paused a moment as he realised that he _had_ defiantly heard the name used before. Lirael mistook his silence as him waiting for her to finish, so she quickly swallowed and murmured. "Please, go on."

"They seemed to be chasing you, these Heartless, I was wondering why."

"Because I'm the Keymaster." She set aside her piece of toast and took a sip of the juice, it was a strange mix of orange and something else that she couldn't name, possibly grapefruit.

"Keymaster." Knave repeated the word as if trying it out. He had heard that one used before as well, he was sure of it. Looking at her strange weapon, lying beside her on the bed, he made a guess at its named as well. "That would be the Keyblade?"

Lirael looked surprised and almost choked on her juice. "Umm . . . yeah." She spluttered, "how did you know that? I mean only a few people alive know about this thing."

"It's a weapon, a powerful one against the Heartless." Knave spoke quietly, almost to himself. It was as if he where reading a piece of paper, the knowledge was intuitive, but he didn't know that it was there until he had said it. "But its more than that. It's a key to . . ."

"To the Kingdom Hearts itself." She finished for him. "How could you possibly know all that?"

Knave deflated and sat on a chair, he hung his head in his hands and shook it as if to clear his thoughts. "I don't know." He answered truthfully. "I don't remember anything before I woke up in one of the alleys out there. Nothing about my past, who I am, or where I come from."

Lirael looked sympathetic and shuffled forwards a little to place a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing?"

"Nothing." He repeated sadly.

He replayed the past few hours in his head. Arriving at the hotel, the fight in the streets, and waking up in the alley. But if he tried to push himself a little past that then all he got was a solid wall of white in his memory, with the sensation of heat and falling.

No matter how hard he tried, that was all he had gotten.

_Maybe I don't want to remember?_ He thought, then dismissed it instantly. Of course he did.

Lirael watched him, a warmth growing in her chest at the thought of him. He was so kind, and brave. He'd risked himself to save her, and had given her the help she so desperately needed. She only hoped he hadn't been hurt in the process. She looked up, dismissing her thoughts to find him looking at her strangely, his head tilted to one side.

"Have I seen you before?" he asked, as if he were half way into a daydream. Lirael shook her head.

"I've never seen you. But... then again things are such a mess at the moment anything is possible I guess."

Lirael's words were interrupted, when a soft knock came at the door. A black gloved hand waved itself through the crack, and Lirael grinned, moving to throw back the door and fling her arms around the lythe form of Hakujou in a hug.

"You lived! You really... you're alright!" Another arm wrapped itself around Lirael, and pulled her from Hakujou. Reno was there as well, and now held Lirael in a firm embrace, looking truly relieved to find her ok. He rested his chin on her head, as Lirael squeezed him.

"There were so many! How did you win?" Reno laughed and kissed her forehead. Knave felt oddly relieved that Lirael didn't kiss back.

Why should he care? The two were obviously close.

"We fell back, away from the entrance to the Second District and tried to spread them out thinner through the streets. Luckily the bulk of the Heartless didn't want to follow and we escaped. It was just a cleanup job after that." Reno and Hakujou both looked greatly pleased to speak of it, and Lirael blinked, looking at Knave with wide eyes.

"You know what that means?" Her voice was sharp this time, but, somehow, still held its innocence. Knave moved back a step.

"No . . . something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite," Lirael picked her Key up from the end of the bed, and waved her hand over it. To Knave's astonishment, it vanished, and she didn't blink twice. "It means that this District is clear of Heartless, and we don't have to be worried about any more attacks for the time being. The gates at either end of town will keep them out now the ones here are gone."

It did indeed seem like good news. Knave smiled at Lirael's two companions in an attempt to be friendly. Hakujou responded quickly with a warm grin and a little wave, the young girl obviously the first one to actually notice him standing in the room. Reno, on the other hand had fixed him with a glare that would melt ice.

"Whose the new guy?" Hakujou asked in a mock-innocent tone.

Lirael pulled Knave forwards a little from where he had been hovering away from the main group, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is Knave. He saved me from the Heartless that chased me down and then brought me safely here to meet up with you guys. Apparently he's lost his memory."

Knave didn't amend her explanation, the fact he had only been looking for food and medical care was not something he was going to go into now. He had no idea that her friends had arranged to use this place as some kind of fallback point.

"This is Hakujou and Reno." She introduced, pointing at each in turn. "They're my--"

"Guardians." Reno cut in. "We're here to keep the Keymaster safe, no matter what the cost." Reno's voice was still cold, as he directed his words to Knave, who shrugged off his tone. He could quite understand how Reno felt. Lirael was something special, no doubt about it. He was about to say so, when Lirael interrupted.

"Reno... I don't expect you guys to die for me, you know that. I couldn't live without either of you." Shaking her head, her long black hair whipped around, ending up in her face. Reno reached a hand out and smoothed it back, leaning forward to kiss her again. He almost met her lips, when Lirael turned her head, and he touched her cheek instead.

"Never mind that," Hakujou chuckled, walking toward Knave while Reno and Lirael remained silent. "Our top priority right now is to take Lirael to meet with Merlin."

"Who is this Merlin guy?" Knave asked innocently.

"He's the oldest living magician, and very powerful, his magic has gotten to a level where he can sometimes catch glimpses of the future. He sent a message to Disney Castle just before Lirael arrived there herself, asking her to come to Traverse Town and meet him. The king assigned us to protect her on the journey because he feared that the Heartless would make a play for her."

"Which they did." Reno added sombrely. "Luckily they weren't counting on meeting too much resistance and only a weak force was sent to catch her."

Hakujou shook her head a little and glanced over her shoulder at Reno. "They're held up in the heart of the town, my guess is that the big-guns are all keeping Merlin trapped in there to stop him coming to meet with us."

"Then that means . . ."

"Yep, we're going to have to go to him."

Lirael looked a little startled, but didn't say anything. Reno on the other hand looked surprisingly cool and collected, he drew one of his guns from beneath the confines of his jacket and started to reload in a professional and business-like manner. He looked up when he was done and snapped the gun shut with a loud click.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's get moving. I guess that we'll be seeing you around Knave."

He was opening the door to leave when Lirael blurted out "I want him to come with us."

Knave wasn't sure who was the more surprised, himself or her friends. Hakujou stopped dead and spun around without making a sound, her eyes wide with astonishment. Reno on the other hand glared at Knave as if this were his doing.

In momentary fear for his life, Knave raised his hands in surrender and backed away. "Hey, no offence but I have other places to be," he added.

"That settles it then." Reno commented, placing a possessive hand onto Lirael's shoulder and trying to walk her to the door. "He doesn't want to come and we certainly don't need him getting in the way."

Lirael brushed away his hand and stamped her foot on the ground, a strangely child-like gesture. Folding her arms around her chest she turned back to Knave and ignored her friends attempt to shepherd her away.

"And where is it you're going to go?" she asked him. "You don't have any memory and even if you did you probably haven't ever been here before. Don't you want to get your memories back?"

"What?" Asked Knave slightly confused. All too aware of the evil stare Reno was putting on him from behind her.

"I said don't you want your memories back? Merlin is the most powerful magician anywhere, he's bound to be able to do something to help you, or at least pass you along to someone who can. Isn't it worth the effort to go and see him?"

Hakujou tried to intervene by imposing herself between them, "Lira, he's not a warrior like us. You can't ask him to come with us, maybe he can go and see Merlin after we've rescued him from all of this and moved on?"

"That's what you know!" Lirael poked her friend in the chest and spun on Reno, who was still glaring at Knave. "And you can cut that out as well! This man saved me from the Heartless back there, and he risked his own life to do it."

"We don't know anything about him." Reno murmured.

"I owe him the chance to find out who he really is!" She protested. "Besides, he _is_ a warrior! He can be just as useful as you two are!" Lirael watched the expressions on her friends' faces. Hakujou seemed relatively alright with the idea. Her face was shrouded in a thoughtful expression, and she hummed a moment, before nodding.

"Why not?"

"How do we know he's not working with the Heartless?" Reno returned his guns to the inside of his coat, and crossed his arms stubbornly. "We should be wary of anything, Lirael. He could be -" A sharp cough from Lirael cut Reno's speech off short, as he looked down at the raven-haired Keymaster. Her cerulean orbs gazed up at Reno with contempt, and then suddenly softened. She folded her hands together, and hung her head, allowing her long black locks to cover her face.

"Please, Reno? I want him to come with us, because I feel bad. I owe him my life, and, if you truly care about me, you owe him, too." The whole display was somehow comical to Knave, and he couldn't help smiling to himself. This girl was manipulative... and good at it, too.

"Aw... Alright, Lirael. If it makes you happy... but, only for a little while, ok?" Reno patted Lirael's shoulder, and she looked up at him, smiling.

"Thank you." She moved forward and hugged Reno with a childish air of innocence. He hugged her back, and a loud silence filled the room. Hakujou coughed, and headed for the door.

"Yeah, uh, let's go." As she passed Lirael, she grinned at the girl, and shook her head. Lirael was so good at that sometimes. Her innocence and fragility made even the most cold hearted of people want to take care of her. It was just her charm. Hakujou had experienced it for herself, when she'd first met the girl.

Lirael had been sitting alone on the steps that led up to Disney Castle. Her chin had been resting in her hands as she propped her elbows on her knees. Her long, dark hair was spread out over her back, and her pale skin made her seem cold. But it had been the girl's eyes that had taken hold of Hakujou's heart. They were a striking cerulean blue, and, when she seemed sad, it was as if all the sorrows of the world were bottled up in those two, soft orbs.

When Hakujou had spoken to Lirael, she'd shivered, and turned her head up slightly, to look at Hakujou as if she were the only one left in the world.

Thinking about it now, Hakujou realised that Lirael's heart was the purest she'd ever encountered. And, most of the time, it was strikingly obvious.

"Yeah, let's go." Lirael's voice broke through Hakujou's reverie, as they all began to shuffle out the door. Lirael hung back to look up at Knave, and smile at him.

"It'll be ok. We'll find Merlin, and, maybe he knows how you can get your memories back." Grabbing Knave's wrist, Lirael tugged him down the hallway after her, as they followed Reno and Hakujou out the door of the inn.

Knave followed blindly, he was a lost man wondering about in a world he didn't know. How much harm could it do to tag along with these guys for a little while?


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3:

Slipping through the early morning half-light, the party quickly covered the distance between the inn and the gates to what Hakujou called the 'Second District.' It appeared that this place was built in three staggered layers, which each housed different types of building. The first was filled with shops, inns and bars and was very much the social sector, it also contained the gates to the outside world and was the first thing anybody saw when they arrived. Hence its official standing as First District.

Beyond this lay the Second District, and the place where most of the residents lived. Housing there ranged from the average to the super-expensive but was generally considered to be the centre of the area.

Lastly there was Third District, home to the machinery that powered the town. Apparently Merlin lived somewhere beyond there in the unnamed areas that a casual tourist never got to see, or didn't want to.

"You seem to know a lot about this place." Knave commented as they finally drew to a halt in front of the gate. "Were you born here?"

"Nobody's born in Traverse Town." The winged girl replied evenly, "they just find their way here. It's kind of like a crossroad for travellers, everybody comes here at one time or another." Shrugging, she turned her attention away from him and committed all of her attention to the large wooden gate.

"You got that right." He murmured to himself. Somehow he'd found his way there without even trying. Maybe everyone really _did_ end up in Traverse Town at one time or another.

Hakujou ran one gloved hand over the wood, her eyes half closed. "I can sense great power beyond this door." She stated in a trance-like tone. "Something lurks there commanding the Heartless, it's lying in wait for us."

"Then let's not disappoint it." Reno murmured, one hand resting inside his jacket. The seemingly casual gesture had an undertone of malice now that Knave knew that there was at least one gun tucked away in there. Especially in light of the way Reno had made his feelings towards him clear.

Around them Traverse was beginning to wake up. People were going about their everyday lives, opening up shops and turning off the neon lights. It was a strange mesh of modern and Victorian techniques that made up this place, he reflected.

"We can't stop now." Lirael was telling the other two. "I have to see Merlin, and whatever is lying behind those gates can't stop that. Do you think that between us we would be able to overpower it?"

Hakujou's brow furrowed and she looked over at Knave for a moment. "Maybe." She said after a pause."

Opening the gates was easier than their size would have them believe, giving way under the slightest push that Reno placed upon them. The group entered Second District quietly, but the words Hakujou had spoken had made each of them wary.

Something was waiting for them.

Almost immediately two of the Heartless pounced from amidst the shadows and tried to attack them, but Hakujou killed one of them with a wave of her hand that issued forth a flame, burning it alive. The second got within striking distance of Lirael before she summoned up her Keyblade and destroyed it.

"Nothing, just a couple of guards," she whispered, letting the blade vanish again. "They don't know that we're here yet."

That meant that their best bet was to sneak through the district before they were discovered. Signalling to Reno, she indicated that on no account was he to fire his guns unless it was a last-ditch effort. She pecked him on the cheek and them moved away.

The spikey-haired man came over towards Knave, arms crossed across his chest as if to resist the temptation of drawing a weapon and lent close to his ear. "You'd better be good with that sword of yours," he whispered. "Even Hakujou's magic has its limitations and if I can't fight that leaves you Newboy. Protect her with your life."

---

Halfway through the District, Lirael eased up a bit. They'd seen no more Heartless, at least not for a while. Lirael's Keyblade was acting normally, which meant that the Heartless weren't close. She'd noticed that, whenever the monsters had come near her, the Keyblade had shone even brighter, as if it were a light with which to destroy the darkness.

_Heh, pretty poetic... 'A light to destroy the darkness...'_ she thought to herself. Lirael let go of the Keyblade, and it disappeared. Raising her arms above her head, she stretched, her shirt riding up her belly just slightly. Both Knave and Reno noticed, but it was Reno who acted upon it. He immediately moved to Lirael's side, and slipped his arm around her. Amazingly enough, she leaned into him, allowing him to hold her as they walked.

Up ahead, Hakujou was oblivious to the whole scene, as she scouted for the Entrance to the Third District. Her wings were tensed, as if she expected to be ambushed at any moment.

"Hey, guys, I think I found something." Hakujou called back to the others in a hushed voice, and waved them closer. She'd found a door, which opened up into an Alleyway similar to the one that Lirael had run through earlier. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

"This way should cut a good half-hour off of our journey." Hakujou informed Lirael, who stepped forward, and peered through the doorway.

""I don't like this place... too enclosed." Reno came up, and settled a hand on the Princess's shoulder.

"Don't worry, hon. We'll protect you."

"It'll be a replay of last time... I don't want that," she snapped, as she turned to Knave. "He already had to save me once, and risked himself. I don't think we need to do that again." Pulling away from Reno, Lirael walked over to stand beside Knave. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes, and tilted her head to one side. Instant charm, he recognised the manoeuvre from inside the inn. "Knave? What do you think we should do?"

"It's... not up to me, Lirael." He replied.

"But I want to know what you think." Lirael clasped her hands behind her back, and rocked on her heels, looking up at him. It reminded Knave of what he'd always pictured a little sister to do - beg for something, and try to look as sweet and innocent as possible.

"I... I think... we should listen to Hakujou," he spoke finally, trusting in the girl's power to sense if there had been any danger. Lirael sighed again, and shook her head.

"Fine." She murmured after a suitable pause, "We go through."

The party entered the alleyway and made haste to rush through the confined space as quickly as possible. Even if it wasn't a trap, being discovered there would be bad for them as the cramped conditions limited their ability to fight off an attacker.

Lirael was placed into the centre of the group between Hakojou, who lead the way, and Reno. Knave was left to canter alone behind them, he recognised the enthuses that the other two put on her safety and had to admit that his own curiosity as to why she was so important was beginning to peak. It would be worth travelling to see this Merlin person if only to find out what was going on.

Then there was the question of his memory. Sometimes he could go for as long as an hour before he realised that there was a gaping hole in his memory, so much had been happening to keep him occupied, but it played on his mind. He'd woken up in that alleyway with burnt clothing and a sword lying near-by, but how long had he been like that?

Sighing to himself he looked at the sword that he was clutching loosely in his right hand. This was as big a clue to himself as he was going to get. The name engraved onto the blade might well be his own, it felt right, but he couldn't be sure. When he heard it there was always the expectation of something else, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was a fine blade, well balanced and obviously expensive, and he could use it.

That was the biggest surprise. He had no memory of anything prior to waking up, and yet he could read, write and speak several languages without trouble. His use of the sword came as natural as breathing, and he could use mathematics. All of these things he had discovered as he tried to push his limitations back at the inn whilst Lirael was sleeping. He had heard that when you lost your memory the skills that you learnt went with it, but this seemed to be more selective. His skills had been left alone as far as he could tell, and yet everything else was a blank.

He looked in a mirror and saw a stranger looking back out at him.

Maybe this Merlin person they referred to could help him, if he really was as wise as they claimed or as powerful as Hakujou seemed to believe, then there _must_ be something that he could do. He wanted his life back more than anything; it was like a physical wound that wouldn't heal, an unimaginable scar on his being.

"C'mon, in here!" Hakujou's voice broke through Knave's reverie, and he shook his head to clear his thoughts out. He'd fallen behind a short distance, and jogged the rest of the way to where the others stood. Hakujou was gazing down at a metal grate that was embedded in the brick wall of the Alley. A small stream of water flowed through, but to where, Knave couldn't guess.

With a soft, whispered spell, the grate came open, and Hakujou sighed.

"Go on through, and I'll seal it up behind us. We don't need a rear-ambush while we're in this place." Reno grabbed Lirael around the waist, and led her through the hole left by the grate. They quickly disappeared into the darkness, and Knave could hear the splash of their footsteps ahead of him.

"Go." Hakujou gave Knave a gentle push through the hole, and followed him in, closing the grate behind her. "This is a shortcut." She whispered to him. Then, placing her hand in the small of Knave's back, she guided him through the darkness, until Knave could make out the faint glow of something up ahead.

A hand on his chest surprised him, and he grunted as he heard a female voice squeal.

"Knave! Don't sneak up on us! We can't see!" Behind him, Knave could hear Hakujou sigh, and snap her fingers. All around them, small lamps began to blaze softly, casting a faint glow about the small space.

"I guess I forgot to mention that…" Hakujou stepped up from the water onto dry ground, and stretched. "Merlin's house is just up those steps," she said, pointing to a staircase just beyond the wall. "You guys ready for this?" Hakujou's gaze was resting on Lirael, who had begun to fidget with her Keyblade. "The evil I sensed is radiating from up there somewhere, I'm sure of it."

"I am… I guess." Lirael sighed, and Knave was once again thrown into confusion. Wasn't seeing Merlin exactly what she'd wanted? Why was she nervous now?

Knave's question must've been on everyone else's mind as well, because Reno pulled Lirael close, and tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"What's wrong, Lira? You ok?" The raven-haired princess nodded, and sighed.

"Yeah… it's just… I got to thinking about Gin-- someone… someone who would've been much better at this than I am."

Hakujou glanced at them for a moment before waving Knave over to stand next to her and indicating the staircase with a nod of her head. "Maybe it would be best if you went up first. They're waiting for us, your appearance might throw whatever's up there enough for us to make a break for the house."

Knave looked at the staircase, it spiralled upwards towards some kind of trap door, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be caught in such tight confines if a fight started.

"Where do the steps come out?" he asked quietly.

"Just outside Third District, about twenty meters from Merlin's home." She lent her head on one side, "look, if you don't want to do this you don't have to come, it isn't like you're involved in this."

"I'm fine." He snapped back quickly, then in a calmer voice he added, "I just don't like surprises, that's all."

Hakujou smiled in agreement and clapped him on the shoulder playfully. "I know what you mean, but sometimes we just have to take a risk."

Knave nodded and pushed his way up the stairs and out of the trapdoor. It was lighter than he had expected it to be, and was obviously kept well oiled because it didn't make a sound when he opened it. Pulling himself up to ground level he checked the surrounding rooftops and the streets around them. A little way to the left there was a house bigger than the rest of them, he guessed that it must have been where the magician lived. Everything looked clear, there was no sign of the Heartless.

He reached down and pulled Hakujou up through the hole, she was surprisingly light for her size. Taking in her wings and her weight it wouldn't surprise him if she could actually fly given the chance. She scanned the area in much the same way as he had, then called for the others to join them.

When they had assembled back on street level they began to slowly make their way towards the large house. They all felt it, same as Knave did. Things were too quiet. This was supposed to be the centre of magical power for the whole town, so where were the monsters sent to keep Merlin from coming out of his house to meet then?

Reno walked up to the door and reached out with one hand to knock, with a suddenness that made them all jump, Hakujou slapped his hand away. Sensing something that none of the others did, she was just in time. The wood of the door shimmered, and became a gaping mouth, snapping down where his hand had been only a second earlier.

"Trap!" Reno cried, and drew a gun from the recesses of his jacket.

The door shimmered like water, forming the shape of a monster. After a second, and as if prying itself from tar, the thing drew itself from the door and onto the steps in front of them. Growing in size it rose up to become something vaguely human-like but with long horns and black skin that had no definition. Like the Heartless that they had seen so far, it was as devoid of detail as a shadow.

"Back!" Lirael yelled as Reno unloaded a clip into the thing's face. This thing wasn't just there to keep Merlin inside, it had been waiting for them to arrive. As one the party leap away and down the steps back into the street. Fanning out, Knave found himself a space to work in and drew his sword.

Letting out a furious howl the monster leapt for Lirael, who batted it away with her Keyblade, rolling out from underneath it as Hakujou sprayed it with magical fire. The thing's back burnt for a second, and then the fire died as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the thing unscathed.

There was a faint click off to his left as Reno reloaded his weapon, and then a hail of deadly gunfire spread across the street. The bullets caught the beast along the thigh and issued forth a fine spray of black blood from the monster, but instead of falling it shifted its weight to the other foot and leapt once more for Lirael.

"No you don't!" The girl yelled and the Keyblade in her hand flared with a brighter light than before. Lirael dropped lightly down onto one knee, slicing a gash along the underside of the beast as it sailed past her, more of the black liquid spewed out and coated her arm. The monster snarled, but the small figure didn't stop. She leapt to her feet, and spun around, whacking at it again, sending more black ooze flying.

Hakujou and Reno stood stunned. Lirael hadn't ever been so aggressive. It wasn't until Lirael slipped in the blood that coated the ground, and cried out did the three other heroes wake up to the danger she was in.

Reacting more quickly than the other two, Knave threw himself across the distance between them, scooping up Lirael, and skidding across the slick cobblestones with her in his arms. Hakujou brought down a hail of fire onto the beast, as Reno unloaded a full clip across the monster's neck. But it wasn't dying. Somehow, it was able to regenerate itself again and again.

"It's a Spellbreaker!" Hakujou yelled out, cursing. Once again Knave was forced to assess the extent of his amnesia. He knew that the term meant that magical attacks wouldn't affect the monster, rendering Hakujou's spells ineffective against it, but he had no idea when or where he had learnt that knowledge.

Picking themselves up, Lirael and Knave looked each other over, Knave's legs were coated in the black ooze that he'd skidded across, but that was nothing compared to Lirael, who looked as if she'd bathed in the stuff. By the look on her face, he could see she was still furious, but it looked like she wasn't injured.

"Just wait here, I'll go help them," he started, but was cut off quickly as the enraged girl scrambled across the ground, her Keyblade reappearing to her hand once more as she arched back, and flung it at the Heartless.

Her aim was dead-on, as it slammed into the monster's chest, sticking there the thing began to howl in pain, trying desperately to claw the weapon from its chest. But every time it managed to get a purchase on the handle, it cried out as it burnt. Shuddering, and letting out one final howl of desperation, the beast exploded into a fine mist. The Keyblade, no longer supported by the monster's weight, hung suspended in the air for a moment, then vanished.

"Lira?" Hakujou crossed the distance between them and caught the younger girl up in her arms "Lirael, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, accepting Knave's hand as he lifted her to her feet again. "I just got pissed is all. I'm tired of the Heartless." She hung her head, her black hair sticky with the ooze that remained even after the creature itself had vanished. Hakujou took pity on her, and waved a hand over the girl. The ooze turned into a vapour similar to a small-scale version of the mist that had claimed the monster, and then it too vanished.

There was a soft click as Reno reloaded his side arm and glanced around the courtyard. "Are you sure there's no wounds?" He asked Hakujou, who nodded. "Good." He didn't look at Knave, but instead glanced around the rooftops and then nodded in the direction of the house. Catching his drift, they began to make their way back over towards it, this time confident that the trap had already been sprung.

"She's got a lot of power hasn't she." Knave commented to Hakujou as they climbed the steps up to the front door, hanging back a little way from Reno and Lirael.

"More than any of us." The winged girl nodded and looked at him. "But she's new to it, and has poor control over it. That's why she needs us to look out for her."

Knave nodded, and watched as the girl knocked. She was defiantly more than met the eye, something about her reached out to him in a way he couldn't describe.

The door swung open gently, untouched by human hands, and a voice from inside called out rather too loudly, "Well you four had better come in, you're late."


	4. Chapter 4

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter updates are going to be less frequent for a little while because I have to split my time a little at the moment, but keep your eyes peeled because there is still a whole NOVEL to go and this is only the beginning. Your frequent comments are very heartening and I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far._

CHAPTER 4:

Merlin was a wizened old man, small and grandfather-like with a wispy white beard that came down to roughly chest level and a pair of old spectacles to help him read. Hakujou had told Knave that he was the most powerful magician ever to have lived. So powerful in fact that his vision could reach out into the future and that there was nothing he did not know.

Knave thought that he looked like a cheerful old man with a passion for the colour blue that exceeded even his own. He'd got a pointy hat and a robe in the same base colour that made him look like some kind of rocket ready for take off.

The party had assembled around a large table in one of the rooms within his home, and as he pottered about them, pouring cups of tea, he answered questions.

"You knew we were coming?" Reno asked, ignoring the beverage and going right to the heart of the matter with his usual tact.

"My sight was quite clear on your arrival, although it took you longer to kill the monster guarding this house than I had predicted. But then I had expected all of you to fight, this young man here" and he nodded in Knave's direction as he filled up Lirael's cup, "didn't actually do any of the fighting."

"So why didn't you help us out?"

"That monster was a Spellbreaker. There was nothing my power could do to help."

Hakujou reached over and plucked a biscuit from the plate opposite her and dipped it idly into her tea whilst she questioned the old man. "You sent word to Disney Castle that Lirael would arrive, and that when she did that King Mickey should send her here to see you. What was it that you wanted to talk to her about?"

Merlin finished serving and set the teapot down with a soft thud onto the table. It shuffled away from the edge a little and settled on a small heat resistant mat as if the thing had a mind of its own. Not that they should be too surprised, the spoon in Lirael's tea had been happily stirring itself for the last minute or so.

When he was sure that he had everybody's attention, Merlin sat at the head of the table and took a deep draw from his own cup, as if wetting his lips before retelling a story.

"Well." He started, then stopped to think about how best to describe it. "Not to put too dramatic a twist on events, we need Lirael here to save creation."

Sudden silence fell across the table, punctuated by Lirael dropping her spoon, the metal clanging on the stone floor of the house. She made no move to pick it up however, all her attention was now focused upon the magician.

"Lirael, do be a dear and put that Keyblade of yours onto the table." Merlin indicated, and with a sweep of his hand the items on the table shuffled out of the way to provide her with an empty space to lay the weapon down. Drawing the weapon out of the air, it appeared in her hand. And she looked at it for a moment before laying it down.

"You all know what this is correct?" Merlin asked.

Nobody spoke up, they were all too intent to see what would be said next to answer. Lirael was on the verge of speaking when a little voice inside her head told her to shut the hell up and see this through. Whatever this man was going to tell her was important.

"This Keyblade is one of three that were created many, many years ago. They are weapons of huge power, which seek out the purest of hearts and bond with their chosen owner. Once a Keyblade has chosen the one who can command it, it cannot be used by another unless that person hands it over willingly." As if to illustrate the point he lifted the key up off of the table, it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces of light and vanished. Reappearing in Lirael's hand only a second later. The girl replaced it onto the table and urged him to continue.

"Two of the Keyblades are able to lock the mystical doorways between worlds, sealing them from the Heartless' advances. Rendering those worlds safe. But this is just a side effect of their greater purpose. They are designed to seal the doorway to the Kingdom Hearts should it ever be opened."

"The Kingdom Hearts?" Hakujou echoed in awe.

"The centre of all things, that binds our worlds together and breathes life into the galaxy is indeed accessible to outsiders like ourselves, but should the doorway ever be opened the results could be catastrophic. If the Kingdom Hearts' power where released then all of that energy would wipe out creation. Leaving nothing but the blank space that existed before the universe was born. These keys are designed with the intention that the user should defend the Kingdom Hearts will all his or her strength. Selecting the purest of hearts to possess them."

Lirael blinked, as if remembering something. Knave realised that he was the only one watching her response to all of this, everyone else was focusing all of their attention on Merlin. He thought for a moment that she would say something, but evidently she thought otherwise, because she did not speak.

"There is a great evil at large, the Heartless have been freed once again and are devouring whole worlds. But behind them is a mind far more sinister and cunning. For the Heartless to be so organised in their methods indicates that another, greater, power is controlling them. I have tried to use my future sight to glimpse the identity of the one behind this, but he dwarfs even my power. Blocking my sight and trapping me within my own home as you saw."

Merlin's hands where shaking, he toyed with his teacup nervously as if putting off the inevitable. Evidently whatever this person had done, it was scaring the old man.

"That is why you had to come here my girl." He addressed Lirael plainly at last. "Of the three Keyblades only the one belonging to your family line is still around, the others where lost a great many years ago. Only you have the power to seal off each world from the thrall of the Heartless. And perhaps, only you can stand up to the evil that is driving them. His intentions are not known to me, but if he has summoned an ancient evil like the Heartless then he must have a grand plan hidden behind the chaos."

Lirael looked over at Reno, looking for support and affection. He smiled slightly and nodded to her, placing one arm around her shoulder. From across the table Hakujou nodded as well, and she drew strength from the two of them. This task that had been assigned to her was a massive duty, and it was evident that she planned to try.

Knave realised how much of an outsider he really was to all of this as he watched the three of them together. He didn't look at Lirael, instead turning to Merlin, his own questions burning to be answered.

"And what of me?" he asked, "you said that you knew I was coming, you expected me to fight, but you haven't given me a name yet. Please," he lent over the table towards the old man, "would you tell me who I am?"

Merlin looked him up and down for a moment before sighing sadly to himself. "You have chosen the name of Knave?" he asked, and waited for a nod before continuing. "Then Knave you are, at least for the time being. Whilst a great many things are within my power, to undo the work of such a powerful presence is beyond me. I cannot grant you your memory back, any more than I could tell you your true name whilst under the oppression of the evil one. But I can assure you young man, that you have been sent here, to this place at this time, for a reason."

Knave visibly deflated, his best hope for finding out his true identity was this man, and that hope had been cruelly snatched away from him. He tried not to sound too angry, but a bitter edge filtered into his voice.

"And what is that reason?"

Merlin placed a hand on his shoulder, and came around to stand behind him, reaching both arms around his neck and cradling his head from behind the chair. "You fear that this thing has been done to you out of spite. The furthest back you can remember is . . . a burning pain and the sensation of falling. But you do not understand the true implications of what has happened to you, or why you are here. The Heartless fear you, you call out to them, like light chasing off a shadow. Your soul is a mirror to all that they represent. Do you know what it means to be touched by the Kingdom Hearts lad?"

"What?" Knave was confused, and a little unnerved by this new line of conversation.

"There is an aura to you that is unlike anything I have ever seen. Most people are born with an aura like this, but it fades over time as they grow old and the world affects them. Their . . . purity, dissipates and vanishes as they experience life. Magic casters like myself keep a good portion intact, allowing us to manipulate the basic elements into spells. It is this link between the aura and magic that allows me to see this, and I suspect that Hakujou could as well if she wanted. You however, are an anomaly, there is no ability to use magic inside of you, and yet your aura is brighter than that of a new-born."

Reno snorted, "what is it you're getting at old man?" he asked plainly.

"Knave here has been touched by the Kingdom Hearts, taken inside the centre of all things and reborn. If my theory is correct it is no coincidence that you awoke here in Traverse Town and met up with the Keymaster and her friends, you where sent directly by the Kingdom with the express intention of meeting them."

Knave frowned, not quite grasping the situation. "But my memories?"

"Taken away from you by the Kingdom itself. I do not claim to know why."

"Well that's just great!" Slamming down his fist on the table he shattered the teacup he was holding and made everyone jump. Knave threw up his hands and stormed away from the table. He'd been robbed of the very essence of his self, and he was supposed to be impressed with this . . . this rubbish? Who was he to care about any of what these people where talking about? He was just a lost soul trying to find out who he was, and the universe had turned around and dumped this pile of semi-religious crap on him.

He stalked out of the house and into the cool night air beyond, slamming the door behind him on the way out. Lirael rose to follow him, but thought better of it. It looked like he needed to be alone for a while. After all, it had been her who had convinced him that Merlin would be the one to help, she reasoned that he must be feeling pretty bad.

"So . . ." she asked when a suitable amount of silence had passed. "How do I go about sealing worlds from the Heartless. I mean, getting from world to world is easy enough, but what do I do when I get there?"

Merlin picked up the pieces of the cup delicately, tracing his fingers lightly around the sharp edges as he considered the question. "Every world has a Keyhole." He said at last. "Seek it out and you will be able to use your Keyblade to seal that world from further Heartless invasion. Those already on that world will be trapped there and cut off from reinforcements, making them easier to kill. In essence you lock it down and then clean up the mess, or leave and let the locals sort it out for themselves if they are able. Every world has one, even Traverse Town."

They where learning to much, so many things that they had always thought were myth. Lirael was a direct descendent of a great hero from the past named Sora, she knew a limited amount about the Keyblade's power, but nothing like this. Knowing that every world, no matter how far away, was connected to everywhere else through the Keyholes somehow made the vast distance between them seem smaller.

Pushing a long strand of hair out of her face and tucking it behind one ear, she looked around at her friends. They would accompany her she knew, no matter where she went they had made it quite clear that they would never leave her. A look of determination slowly formed on Lirael's face, and she reached out for the Keyblade, lifting it off of the table and feeling the reassuring weight of it in her hand.

"Alright." She said, her voice strong. "Where do we start?"

---

Outside Knave was sitting on the steps that led up to the large oaken doorway of Merlin's home. He hugged his knees tight to his chest and looked up at the stars, watching them and wondering what mysteries they held.

So each of them was a world? Filled with places and people he knew nothing about, somehow the sheer amount of them felt daunting. Any one of them could be his homeland, any number of them could contain people he knew, or would know him. And yet when he looked up he felt a sense of longing, as if something important were missing from the night sky.

He could remember every moment after he had woken up with crystal clarity. The way a star had blinked and vanished from the sky, and he wondered if his homeland had met a similar fate. Merlin had said that the Heartless were destroying worlds, maybe his own was among them.

Now that their big hitter was gone, the Heartless in Traverse had fled. It looked like the monster they had destroyed was the only thing keeping them there. Nothing disturbed his mental process as he sat gazing up at the stars.

"Touched by the Kingdom Hearts." He murmured to himself.

The old man had spoken as if his situation were a gift, granted to him from a higher power. But he had no idea how terrible it felt to be without identity, to have no idea where he had come from or who he really was.

_I can't even remember my first name, or the last time I kissed a girl_. He thought, _the things that everyday people take for granted_.

Letting his knees drop, he lent against the edge of the stair and sighed. As he watched another star winked at him and went out. A thousand voices silenced in a heartbeat.

---

"You will need to go to a place called Balmb Garden." Merlin explained, outlining the details of his last vision before the evil presence had descended upon him and blocked his future sight. "There you will find a start for your quest. I wish that I could tell you more, but try as I might, this evil will not let me see anything of our fate. When I try he sends pain that is unspeakable, like a thousand hot knifes directly to my mind. The mental backlash is terrible."

"I've never heard of a world called Balmb Garden before." Hakujou piped in, a frown creasing her pretty features. "How are we to find it?"

"I know where it is." Reno cut in simply, his usual stoic self. "The place is a training facility for young warriors, they call themselves SEEDs, though I haven't seen any of them around lately. We should be able to find it without too much difficulty."

Lirael was following the conversation half-heartedly, he gaze sucked out of the window. Traverse town was beginning to wake up. The night sky had faded and morning was upon them. People were going about their everyday business, happily free of the danger that had stalked their homes the last few nights. It was almost as if nothing had happened.

Leaning back in her chair she let the three of them talk out the details amongst themselves. They were leaving in the morning, taking the Gummi-Ship they'd come in on and flying out to find this Balmb place, wherever it was. As far as she was concerned there was nothing for her to do between then and now but try and catch a few seconds rest. It would be all go when they were finished here.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER: 5

Reno threw the bags up inside the ship's hold before starting off to pick up the last of the supplies from the hotel they'd stayed in the night before. Somewhere inside the large airship Hakujou was stowing the goods and making the pre-flight arrangements. Fuel was checked, and systems were put through a thorough analysis.

Lirael was standing out on the cobbles, basking in the afternoon sun. In her left hand she was holding the Keyblade, turning it over and over in her hands. It looked innocent enough, but the truth was that it had brought a lot of troubles down upon her over the past year since she had received it. Was she really ready to take such a quest upon herself? The thought that everything was going to rely on her success made her head spin.

And then there was Knave. She hadn't seen him since he stormed out of Merlin's house before daybreak. She had hoped that he'd turn up again before she left, but it didn't look like the blue-haired swordsman was going to show.

"Hey Lirael? Can you give me a hand with this?" Hakujou called from inside the ship, and she turned and disappeared up the gang-plank.

Inside the Gummi-Ship looked a lot less comical than it did on the exterior. Built from lightweight blocks made from colourful material, the ship had the appearance of a child's toy from the outside, but within was a much different story. Control panels and seats strategically arranged around a wide view-screen formed the front of the ship, and the rear had been stripped down for extra seating and cargo space. Hakujou was there in the back, struggling to push one of the larger boxes up onto a shelf.

"Wanna stop staring and give me a hand?" She grinned, her little wings flapping like mad to keep her from tipping over backwards.

Rushing over, Lirael's added weight enabled them to get the box loaded, just in time for Reno to return with the last of the supplies.

"We're all set." He announced and dropped them onto on of the chairs, much to Hakujou's chagrin, who lifted them up again and stacked them away neatly. "How's the pre-flight warm-up going?"

"No problems there, we can leave any time we like." Hakujou gave him the thumbs up.

"Then let's get underway as soon as possible." He suggested, and made his way through towards the cockpit area, Lirael close on his heels.

"Do we have to take off quite so soon?" she asked.

"Why? What's to hang around here for?"

"Lirael," Hakujou put her arm around the younger girl's shoulders "He's not coming back, it doesn't matter how long we wait for him,"

Reno snorted as he realised what was going on but refrained from saying anything, instead he continued to busy himself with the flight controls. Flipping three switches that started the engines humming gently in the background.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lirael admitted. "Let's go."

The noise from the engines gained volume as Reno retracted the ramp and sealed the doors, then flipping another switch, the Gummi began to hover just above the ground. Dust kicked up off of the old copplestones on the ground beneath the ship and began to swirl around, obstructing the view through the main screen.

Out amidst the noise and the dust, Lirael thought that she caught a momentary flash of blue, but it was gone, swept up as quickly as it had appeared. Straining her eyes, she lent forward over the Reno in the pilots seat and tried to get a better look out of the ship.

There it was again, a definite figure out on the landing-pad, walking towards them. She didn't need to take a closer look to see who is was, Lirael was already punching the abort codes into the flight controls, much to Reno's shock and annoyance.

Knave was coming along.

"No, no, Lirael, we shouldn't," Reno began, as Lirael swept past him to open the door to the Gummi. It opened to reveal Knave standing there, his face-hardened with determination. Lirael matched his look, and held her hand out.

"C'mon, we haven't got all day."

He reached up and took her hand, and she pulled him in, just as Hakujou started up the engines again. Reno came back, and grabbed Lirael's arm, guiding her gently toward her seat. Then, he buckled her in as if she were a child, and kissed her forehead. Few words were said. No one wanted to really admit that they hadn't expected Knave to show up again.

The warrior took a seat beside Lirael, and buckled himself up. Lirael shot him a look that could've been one that was grateful, or something entirely different. He decided not to dwell upon it. Instead, he stared straight ahead, watching as the Gummi lifted off, and shot over the town, gaining altitude.

"You know how to get to this 'Balmb Garden,' right?" Hakujou turned to Reno, who nodded.

"I do. It's not hard." The gunner turned in his seat to look at Lirael, who looked slightly sick. Reno nudged Hakujou, who looked in a rear mirror to see the princess biting her lip, almost to the point of drawing blood.

"Lirael? Are you alright?" The girl nodded stiffly, and clenched her eyes shut. Hakujou immediately began to worry. Lirael wasn't one to get travel-sick. In fact, she loved flying. So what was upsetting her?

Then it hit the winged girl like a ton of bricks. The mission ahead of them, it was terrifying Lirael. They'd left her with her own thoughts for too long, both herself and Reno occupied with the Gummi preparations.

Reaching up, Hakujou snapped her fingers once. "Sorry, Lirael, but... you need to _go to sleep_." Hakujou snapped her fingers again, and Lirael's head immediately fell onto her chest, her body put to sleep instantly. Reno looked around to see what she had done.

"What're you doing? Won't she have nightmares now?"

"Nightmares I can deal with. Her being sick all over the place, I can't." Hakujou grimaced. "I'm no janitor, and I'm sure Knave doesn't feel like cleaning up after her either. Just relax. Let's get to this Balmb place and get this over with."

"Right." Reno flipped a couple of switches, and the engines roared. Switching to Warp Drive, Reno input the co-ordinates for the destination, and they were off.

---

Lirael awoke again as they entered the atmosphere of Balmb Garden, the whole ship shook as they passed through the heat and down into the afternoon sky. Raising herself back up into a better sitting position, she noticed that Reno's coat had been draped around her as a makeshift blanket. The gunner too busy to notice her smile at him, concentrating instead on landing the ship safely.

Ahead of them on the view-screen she could just about make out a blur of trees beneath them, and a large building that was growing in size as they approached it. Built from what looked like white metals in a shape that was basically circular, but layered up upon itself to resemble a strange tower, she guessed that it must be their destination. After all there didn't seem to be anything else in sight that could have been man-made.

Gliding in silently, they landed in what looked like a courtyard, and waited to be greeted. After a moment it became apparent that nobody was going to meet the new arrival, and so made preparations to leave the ship and enter the structure-proper.

"Don't forget that were looking for the Keyhole." Reno warned, "it's easy to get side-tracked on a new world, but we have a mission people and we can't afford to delay."

He glanced over to Knave, who just nodded and moved to the doorway, stepping outside into the light. The Blue-haired warrior hadn't said a word to any of them yet, and his silence was unnerving even to Reno, who had been keeping a close eye on the newcomer to their team. There was something about his manner that was unsettling, and he couldn't put his finger on it.

Perhaps it was the fact that Lirael – _his_ girlfriend – appeared to have taken a liking to him. Reno freely admitted that he was an over-zealous man and tried to keep as many men away from her as was humanly possible, but this was something different. Lirael had just received a quest that was a perilous as it was important, and for her to accept this Knave character so freely into their close-knit party was worrying. They didn't know anything about him, not even his real name, and despite what he said their meeting hadn't been a coincidence.

Whatever was going on, Reno was going to be keeping a very close eye on the Swordsman. No way was he going to let Lirael become closer to him.

The courtyard was deserted. As Knave stepped out of the Gummiship the first thing that he noticed was a thick layer of leaves on the ground, a sure sign that it hadn't been in use for over a month. Walking slowly around the square area of the landing pad he checked to see if there were any other signs of decay.

Reno, his weapon drawn, moved directly to the large double doors that served as an entrance into the main building. He tapped the controls half-heartedly and then glanced around to see if there was anything he could use to lever them open. Settling on a large branch he wedged it firmly into position and pulled.

With a stiff groan, the doors opened wide enough for him to get his hands around and pull the rest of the way open. Glancing inside he could make out a well-lit hallway and hear the trickle of a fountain.

"Strange place." Knave commented after a moment.

Hakujou didn't look at him, instead glancing down the corridor as well. "I can't sense anyone at all. A place this size should be filled with people, but it's so still . . ."

Lirael, who had been the last one to leave the ship, looked left and then right before walking through the double doors and down into the distance. Her protectors exchanged a look of mutual caution and followed her.

Knave hung behind, letting the feeling of fresh air and sunshine on his face last a moment longer. The wind scattered leaves about his feet gently and he reached down to pick one of them up. The leaves were a rich green in colour, far too youthful to have dropped with the change in season. Instead small black spots, spread across the underside of the leaf, which faded away as he turned the infected side to the light, reappearing on the shaded surface.

Opening his hand and letting the wind take the leaf away, he looked around once more, trying to memorise his surroundings as well as possible, and followed the others down the corridor.

---

The hall was a lot shorter than she had at first expected to find, and after only a few steps it opened out into a wide circular room, large enough to house a small town. Glossy white marble was evidently the material of choice here, and aside from the ample use of silvery metal it was white that predominated the scene.

Set around a massive fountain that filled the centre of the circular area, there were six main entrances or exits situated around its circumference as well as a lift set directly in front of them that took passengers up to a second level above.

The three travellers stepped down a short staircase and stopped beside the lift, taking in the expansive scenery. For Lirael it was a first, this place was made using a level of technology that was far ahead of that on her own homeworld. Reno, who had visited before was unimpressed and lent against one wall with his arms crossed, never straying too far from her side. Hakujou was as silent as ever, if she was impressed or not was anyone's guess.

"I don't like this one bit." Reno commented simply. "It's too quiet, this place should be filled with people."

Lirael looked at him, "was it like this the last time you were here?" she asked.

He shook his head and then looked up and glared as Knave descended the steps and began to make his way towards the little group. His head constantly swung from side to side, as if taking in as much detail as he could.

_Of course, this is one of the first places he's been since he lost his memory._ Lirael realised, _he's trying to remember as much as he can. This must all be so surreal for him._

"About time you finally decided to join us." Reno grumbled as Knave reached them.

The blue-haired swordsman didn't reply, he just pulled up short of them and continued to glance around. The lack of respect gave the gunner an urge to hit the dopey idiot, but he restrained himself in the light of Lirael's fondness for him.

"Something terrible must have happened here to empty a place of this size." Hakujou commented, "It's almost eerie."

"The power is out," Reno added, looking up above them at the walkways that criss-crossed the ceiling. "The command station for this place is somewhere on ground level if memory serves, maybe we should head . . ."

A sharp noise caused the group as a whole to turn. Amidst the strange silence of the room, it was a shock to hear anything other than the gently bubbling of the fountain. This sounded like someone was walking overhead, but the echo was such that they couldn't pinpoint quite where it was coming from.

Lirael was the first to react, she indicated the elevator and hustled the rest of them inside. Tapping one of the buttons she cursed when nothing happened, the power to the lift was like that of the doors when they had arrived – unoperational.

"Damn it." She pushed the button to ascend several more times before giving up and stepped back out of the confined space.

The noises above stopped suddenly, whoever it was had heard her speak.

Looking sharply upwards with a calculating glance, Hakujou turned to Lirael. "I can make that," she whispered so as not to be heard. Lirael stepped closer so they could converse in hushed voices, and the two of them quickly formulated a plan. Suggesting something, Hakujou listened and then nodded once.

The winged girl slipped one arm around Lirael's waist and braced herself, jumping upwards with enough power to lift the two of them up onto the gantry almost directly above them – using her wings to control the fall, she controlled her descent enough to land them safely with a soft impact.

Moving quickly, the two girls spun around in different directions, trying to catch a glimpse of the cause of the commotion. The Keyblade shimmered and appeared in Lirael's hand ready for action, but there was nobody to be seen.

"There!" Lirael pointed and they caught a brief flash as something disappeared around the corner to a far flung corridor and out of sight. Whatever it was, it didn't want to be seen. She looked over at Hakujou, who shrugged.

"I can't get any sense as to what it was." She admitted, "Whatever it is can shield itself from my magic. Maybe a Spellbreaker or another Caster?"

Leaning over the edge of the walkway, Lirael spotted the other two on the ground floor and waved. Reno, who had been watching them intently made a gesture that she should come back down.

"We're going to try and find out what that was." She called down. "You two go to the command centre and get the power back online. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine!"

That obviously didn't sit well with Reno, though she couldn't hear him she was certain that he was swearing. He stomped one foot in a childish gesture and watched them for another moment before they vanished from sight and began the hunt.

Turning around, he spotted Knave perched seated on the lip of the fountain, one hand trailing through the water. He shrugged and indicated that the gunner should lead the way. Drawing a sidearm, Reno indicated with a grunt that Knave should follow and started to move off in the direction of the command centre.

_Great, just great,_ he thought. _Now I'm stuck with the weirdo._

Knave, slipping neatly from his makeshift seat, followed along in silence, noting that the water in the fountain had taken on a rather strange tint of red.

---

"So what's the plan?" Hakujou asked as they left the main centre of Balmb and started down the little corridor that they had last seen their quarry take.

"Umm," Lirael missed a step and gave a worried grin, "I didn't really think much further ahead than this." She admitted.

Shaking her head in friendly desperation, Hakujou looked at their surroundings. There were cameras lining the halls that she assumed were similarly offline as the doors and the lift. This meant that they wouldn't have to walk too far before the next set of doors, and possibly a swift end to their search. It had taken Reno some effort to open the exterior doors, and she hoped that the ones inside were as immovable. If so then it would severely limit the choices of route their quarry would take, maybe even creating a dead end.

She expressed as much to Lirael, who agreed that it seemed reasonable. Continuing their search however, they found that one set of doors had been prised open and led through to what appeared to be a classroom or lecture theatre.

At the front of a long line of slanted desks was a huge video-monitor, upon which the image of a heartless had been called up, and notes made. Unlike the hounds that had chased her through the streets of Traverse Town, this one looked more humanoid in shape. Though squat and only about the size of a child, its eyes and claws were the same.

"I guess that explains what happened to the people here." Hakujou murmured, as she inspected the desks. "There' notes here about that thing, seems they were studying one."

Lirael made a face, "someone caught a Heartless?"

"According to the notes they wanted to analyse them as a species. This one says that the world they inhabit dictates the form they take, and some of their characteristics."

"I guess it pays to know the enemy." Lirael agreed, but was obviously less than keen to pursue the subject much further. It was obvious what had happened on this world, someone had caught and studied a Heartless without realising that where there was one there would be others. Hundreds or thousands of these creatures had probably turned up to free their comrade, killing everyone in the facility.

If her guess was right, then she wondered where the Heartless were now, they rarely left an area they had claimed without good reason. Of course if they were still there, then it meant that her and her friends would have to be extra careful.

After a little more examination of the room Lirael led Hakujou out again. Seeing the Heartless there had shaken her up, and she felt more jumpy than before.

The two made their way down a level, and wandered until they found another section of the Garden. It appeared to be a library of sorts. It was large and dusty with books scattered on the floor as well as the shelves. Lirael reached out and stroked a finger along the surface of the nearest shelf, and then pulled it away. A large coating of dust was stuck to her slender white digit. She stuck her tongue out and made a face.

"Yuck, it's so dirty in here."

Hakujou chuckled. "I don't think that's dust from age, dear. Something happened to make this building shake down to the very foundation, and it shook everything loose. See how it's not so dirty and grey as the stuff that's in your head?"

"Hey!" Lirael blew the dirt at the winged girl, but Hakujou glided smoothly out of the way and came to ground a few paces to her left.

"Let's try to find something of importance here, alright?" She began to pick books up from the floor, and Lirael sighed, bending down to do the same. She retrieved a few from the floor and sifted through them, but found nothing but statistics, and boring logs from what had to be an old ship of sorts.

"Hakujou, none of this stuff is interesting, it's just . . . hold on." Lirael bent down and pulled a book from beneath a shelf that looked like it was ready to collapse in the middle. She brushed the dust from it, and fingered the golden binding and lettering. The book itself was leather, but it didn't look at all old, once it was cleaned off. She opened it and the spine cracked ever so softly, but the book complained no more.

Lirael flipped through a few pages, and then stopped. It couldn't be.

"H-Ha-Hakujou... c'mere..." Lirael didn't look up as her friend joined her at her side, and peered down at the pages. Hakujou gasped when she saw it, too. A perfectly drawn replica of Lirael's Keyblade rested on one of the pages. On the adjoining page was a Keyblade that was similar. It had a golden staff and a silver hilt, but the Keychain was identical to Lirael's own.

"Lira, I think this book..."

"I was meant to find this. Look." Lirael turned the pages again until she stopped at an image of a young man holding the Keyblade. It was only a sketch, but the likeness was unmistakable. "My great-great grandfather... Sora."

"I know," Hakujou smiled. "He has the same look in his eyes in that picture that you get when you're faced with an adventure. There's no mistaking the family heritage." Hakujou wrapped an arm around Lirael's shoulders. "Keep looking, see if there's anything in there about the Keymasters that we can use."

Lirael flicked quickly through the book as if searching for something. When she was sure that Hakujou's attentions were elsewhere she ripped a page away from the spine and tucked it neatly into her pocket.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER: 6

Knave and Reno arrived in the dormitories not long before Lirael and Hakujou found the Library. Reno kept quiet after they'd left the girls behind, and Knave wasn't sure what to think. Was he supposed to do the talking? Or was there a reason Reno had split apart the group? The gunner was silent as they went through the dormitories, searching rooms and opening drawers and cabinets. What they were searching for, Knave wasn't sure. Hadn't they been headed for the Command Centre? But, Knave felt it wasn't his place to question the gunner's motives, and so he followed Reno's lead, trying to stay on the other gunner's good side.

"So . . . what are we looking for?" Knave asked at last, as they began to move amidst a large section consisting mainly of lockers. But Reno ignored his polite enquiry and continued on down the line, occasionally stopping to check what was inside an open locker. One of them appeared to still be in use, and he pulled out a small stack of magazines accompanied by a long cloak-like jacket. Reaching in further he came away with a packet of cigarettes that he eyed for a moment before taking one and pocketing the rest. Further investigation turned up a lighter and he sparked the short white stick into life, inhaling deeply.

Lirael didn't like him smoking, and he'd given up doing so around her. But right now, so close to the strange guy from Traverse, he decided that it as a necessity.

Trying the jacket against himself, he tossed the reading material on the floor by Knave's feet and slipped into the coat. It fit perfectly, and the dark silvery colour went well with his blue suit.

Crouching to look at one of the magazines, Knave read the titles half-heartedly as he followed along behind the Turk. They seemed to be issues of some kind of combat training booklet – but all jumbled up like this the headlines made little to no sense.

Reno led him through the long dorm area and through a hallway, then took a sharp right and paused in front of a large set of double-doors that had all the markings to indicate that the command room lay inside. Like the rest of the doors they had come across, this one was also powered down, and it took the two of them together to force it open.

As the door opened with a loud creaking sound, something shot out lightening fast at face level and leapt directly for Knave's face – stumbling back in shock he narrowly avoided the claws that scratched the air in front of him.

A strangely human-looking Heartless gave a low hiss and was about to attack again when a shot from Reno's pistol took out the thing's mid-section and it burst into a cloud of black mist with a screech. Twirling the gun around twice he slipped it back inside his jacket and stepped forwards, checking to see if there were any more.

Shaking the image of the child-shaped monster's explosive demise from his memory, Knave rose back up onto his feet and rubbed at his throat – checking there was no injury there where the monster had attacked. "Thanks." He murmured, and meant it.

"Don't bother." Reno commented simply, "I was just paying you back for saving Lirael back on Traverse. We're even now – I don't owe you anything anymore."

"Um . . . alright." Knave frowned. This guy was certainly trying to make things hard for him. "Is this the place we've been looking for?"

Reno glanced through the doors into the room beyond. It was dark and cold, with no light penetrating the thick window-less walls. "Yep," he replied and stepped inside.

---

There was a sound from across the hall, Hakujou was the first to hear it – not unlike metal being prised apart. Slipping down the staircase she was perched upon as quietly as possible, she ran to the doorway in time to catch a brief flash of white hair before it vanished through a newly-opened doorway and was gone.

Sighing, she looked around for Lirael, who was still rummaging around at the base of a large bookshelf. "The chase is on again." She called over to her charge, and together the two of them resumed their hunt. However, in light of their findings in the classroom earlier they were much more cautious.

Neither of them had seen a Heartless on this world yet, but they sure as hell would be ready for them should one appear.

"It looks like he's heading for the roof." Lirael stated simply, as she counted the floors beneath them. "He keeps on going upwards every other corridor."

"Probably trying to throw us off the scent." Hakujou noted.

But Lirael wasn't sure that was the case. The rooms he had led them to so far had been informative to them. First the classroom, that had warned them of the Heartless' presence on this world, and enlightened them to the fate of the local population. Then the library, where she had found a book directly linked to her own bloodline.

Was this stranger trying to show them something? And if so, why didn't he want to slow down and speak to them?

Hakujou paused beside a computer panel and pulled out a handful of wires. Toying with them in her hands, she twisted three together and replaced them carefully. With a splutter and a humming sound the screen clicked to life, clearly displaying the layout of Balmb.

"Hmmm . . ." She mused. "We can cut him off here," she circled her finger around a small landing that connected the stairs and lifts with the rooftop doors. "But to get ahead of him we'd need to get the lifts working."

"I wonder how the boys are getting on?" Lirael breathed.

Frowning, Hakujou took the chance to utilise their time alone, leaning back onto the wall she let the monitor go dead and turned to face her friend.

"I've been meaning to ask you . . ." she started in a subtle attempt to work up to a question that had been bothering her, and then rethought her tactics. Lirael was a sensible person, she'd appreciate a direct approach to any problems she might have. "Why did you let Knave come along?"

To her credit, Lirael didn't look at all surprised at the question. But she didn't give an answer straight away, instead shrugging and pausing to think about it. "I guess because he's so lost. On the one hand I feel sorry for him, and on the other . . ." she paused.

"Yes?" Hakujou pressed.

". . . while I was unconscious in Traverse he kept the keyblade safe for me, and not once did the darn thing vanish. Everyone else who tries that can only keep it in their grasp for a few seconds, but he had it in his possession for over an hour. Then when he touched my hand for the first time I had a kind of vision." She shrugged her shoulders again helplessly. "Does any of this make sense to you?"

"Not really," the winged girl admitted "but then you understand that thing better than I do. And this is _your_ party after all, you are the one in charge."

Lirael smiled and nodded her head once, sending a bob through her long hair. She was sure that wherever the boys were, they would be getting along alright without them.

---

Reno dived to one side and sent three bullets hurtling into the thigh of the Heartless, and whilst the leg buckled under the monster's immense size it refused to die.

Upon entering the room they had swiftly dealt with the small amount of Heartless that had been crowded around the main computer station. But to the collective horror of the two men, when they had approached a much more grotesque and larger one had uncurled from the spot where it had been resting.

Now it stood between them and the console, hissing like a cat whilst resembling a cross between a spider and the more humanistic Heartless that populated this world.

Reloading, Reno took a calm step backwards and narrowly avoided a flailing leg as it tried to snatch at him. Kicking the thing away he swung around his gun arm and let loose another volley.

The beast reared up and away from the gunner to protect its face, but just as it did so the blue figure of Knave darted in beneath it and pierced the bulbous insect-like sack at the base of its body with his blade. Twisting the sword violently he opened the gash and continued to slice his way upwards until the monster toppled over backwards.

With a last burst of strength he slid the blade out of the beast and severed the head, causing it to explode into a black mist and vanish. Without the bulk of the monster's body beneath his feet, Knave slipped and fell to the floor some meter below.

Looking about the room, Reno checked to make sure that there were no more targets before reloading his weapon and stowing it away inside his jacket.

The Command Center was a long room with pillars supporting the roof high above and a short set of steps that led up to a large monitor that filled the length of the far wall and a row of dishevelled computer banks. Some of the Heartless had apparently made this room their nest, he guessed that there would be more hiding throughout the complex, but nothing stronger than the one they had just eliminated. As far as he could tell the basic command structure of the monsters was one swarm of lesser Heartless to every one large abomination.

"Get up." He murmured to Knave without looking and stepped past the downed swordsman without a second glance. The control panel closest to him held the power readouts for the facility, and it seemed to be in working order. With practised skill he began to bring Balmb Garden back to life. Flooding the area with power that reactivated the doors and computers spread throughout the massive compound.

Knave dusted himself down and came to stand a little way away to his left. Evidently he wasn't as computer efficient as the Turk was because he made no move to help. That thought made Reno smile, he was better than the new guy.

Thumbing the monitor to life, he flicked through the surveillance cameras until an image of Lirael and Hakujou appeared on the monitor. With great relish he tapped another button and turned to look at them on the screen.

---

"Why hello there ladies. Having fun are we?" Reno's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, and it made Lirael practically leap out of her skin with shock. Glancing around she spotted the speakers along the top right edge of the ceiling, planted ever meter down the corridor.

She tried to answer, but all that did was inspire a fresh round of laughter from Reno. When he had relished his god-like moment over them for long enough he let her in on the joke. "You've got to use the comm unit on the wall to speak back to me babe," he announced with glee. "Otherwise I can't hear you. I only have visual on this end."

Looking around she spotted the device and flicked the switch.

---

"Alright, can you hear me now?' she asked in a tinny voice. Reno lent over the speaker and fiddled with a few more of the controls, trying to clear up the channel for better quality. Slowly, her voice began to swim into its normal tone.

"Yeah," he replied "That's better."

Hakujou looked up at the camera and shook her head, then lent in close to the mic on their end "I don't suppose that you have the lifts working yet do you?' she asked.

This sent Reno into another blur of motion as he jabbed buttons and called up a variety of charts to the screen so fast that Knave couldn't follow them. After a moment they settled on one of the elevators for that wing of the Garden and he highlighted one in red. A few moments was all it took for Reno to re-write the power from the other lifts into that one, effectively shutting them down whilst keeping this single mod open.

"Consider it done." The Turk announced after a few seconds.

"Can you get a look at this guy on the upper level cameras?" Hakujou suggested.

There were two or three images of empty halls, one of which contained three Heartless, then just static. White noise drilled across the speakers.

"He's taking out the cameras as he goes." The gunner returned to the girls with the news. "He must have guessed that we had control of the Command Centre the moment the power went back online. Sorry girls but I can't help you."

On the screen Hakujou straightened and pointed Lirael in the direction of the lift. With her other hand she waved at the screen and the two of them vanished from shot up the hall. Switching to the next camera, Reno watched them board the elevator and then lost them. Pressing a button, the screen went dead and he started work on getting the hidden security cameras on floors twelve to the roof back online.

---

The lift clattered to a halt and the two girls stepped out into the foyer. It was a broad and wide room, with entrances on two side for stairs from lower levels and another flight that led upwards to the rooftop. The place looked empty, which meant that they had beaten their mystery man up there.

Walking across to the centre of the room, Lirael jumped as Hakujou suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her back a step. She stumbled into the winged girl and the two toppled onto a pile.

"What's going on?" Lirael gasped as she tried to pry her way off of her friend.

"There's something there." Hakujou answered simply. "I got a feeling of anticipation as you neared the middle of the room."

They stood and looked around, trying to spot the source of the danger. "You sure?" Lirael asked half-heartedly, she'd never known Hakujou to be wrong before but there was always a first time. After all, everything looked quite normal from where she was standing.

The other woman nodded her head again and closed her eyes, trying to get a better feel for the room. There was certainly an area of disturbance somewhere in the room, and the closer she got to the centre the stronger it became. Yet whenever she tried to get a feel for the shape of the thing it seemed to shift and become elusive as a shadow, skittering just out of her reach. Whatever it was, it knew they were there and was determined to stay hidden until they sprang some kind of trap that it had lain down for the pair of them.

"I think it is Heartless in origin." She stated as she opened her eyes again and panned them over the ceiling. "If we stick to the edges of the room we should be safe, I think that we can . . ."

Too late she felt it slip close and explode into a new form, a tentacle of the same mould as the Heartless they had fought on Traverse burst from an air-grate in the ceiling and tried to entangle her, but Lirael swept the Keyblade around in a short motion that severed it before it could touch her friend. The dismembered tendril fell to the ground and writhed around on its own for a moment before burning away into black mist.

"I take it back, you were right." The brunette commented with a smile as she spun to see where the tentacle had come from, but as she did so three more erupted from the ceiling and ripped the blade away from her hand, curling around her wrist and lifting her off of her feet. The smile wiped from her face, she pulled back with as much force as she could muster and was relieved when Hakujou cast a spell to freeze them solid. Another pull shattered them and she was free in seconds.

They retreated towards the lift but more tendrils blocked that path, the whole ceiling was now a writhing mass of black worm-like tentacles that reached out for them from every angle. One large mouth snarled and snapped at them, framed by sharp white teeth.

Lirael waved her hand and the Keyblade materialised there, but the monster was now aware of the danger that the glowing object represented and stayed tantalisingly out of reach, goading her closer to the centre of the room.

Hakujou tried to call out and warn her not to get too close to the mouth, but three tentacles wrapped around her waist and mouth, lifting her up off of the floor. Others bound her hands and legs, pulling her painfully in separate directions all at once. Trapped, she was unable to invoke or cast a spell without the use of her voice or the ability to make gestures with her hands. The Heartless' mind pressed close to hers, trying to force its way inside of her. And all of the time Lirael was getting closer to that great gaping maw.

One great eye opened above Hakujou and stared unblinkingly down at her, the thing's presence starting to prod painfully at the edges of her mind, breaking down her mental defences. It must have realised that she was the Spellcaster, she realised with a surge of nausea, and it was taking steps to make sure that she couldn't use her powers to help Lirael before the trap was finally sprung.

Kicking and screaming against the tendrils that held her, she cried out in vain but her voice was muffled and muted by her captor.

Lirael swung her blade in a wide arc that managed to slice through one of the larger tentacles, but around her they were beginning to close like a curtain, obscuring her view of Hakujou and forcing her to keep moving if she didn't want to find herself hemmed into a corner. Another cut severed a smaller one that tried to trip her, and gave her enough space to dance lightly out of the way of a third.

There were so many of them, every one she destroyed seemed to be replaced by another five before she had the chance to react. And above her she was all too aware that the mouth was beginning to gnash its teeth.

---

The screen flickered and flared to life, images of the two girls came into sharp focus. Knave gave a shout to the other man that it was on, and only then did the truth of the situation hit them. Lirael was in serious trouble, even as they watched the mouth opened wide and sunk downwards as if to drop down upon her.

Reno's face filled with an expression somewhere between shock and desperation, grabbing his coat he made to run from the room but Knave caught his elbow before he could leave, holding him in place.

"Get off! I have to go help her!" the Turk sneered in distain and kicked out at the other man, but Knave was still watching the screen intently.

"Wait." He murmured, and used his other hand to point. Another figure had entered the room, this one clad in black and with long silvery-white hair.

---

A blade swung through the air and pierced the eyeball above Hakujou's head at the centre of the iris. Foul smelling black liquid poured down over her face and blinded her, stinging her eyes where is touched them. With a suddenness that shocked her, she was released and hit the ground with a loud thump, unable to see the ground to cushion the blow.

The Heartless reared back and hissed in pain, the giant mouth stretching around the sound and then grimacing as the whole thing shrivelled inwards upon itself. The tendrils around Lirael crumpled in on themselves as if they were hollow and then burst into black mist, whilst the bulk of the monster on the ceiling seemed to shrink and writhe in agony.

Knowing it was about to die, the Heartless used the last of its energy to form one large tentacle and flung it towards her, hoping to bludgeon her with its dying breath but the stranger stepped in between the two and severed the thing in half with one mighty blow.

Screaming in fury at its thwarted plan, the monster exploded into mist that filled the room and for a moment, obscured everything. In the confusion that followed, Lirael fell over and lost sight of her saviour.

"Hakujou? Are you alright?" she called out, unable to see her friend.

At first Lirael thought it was Knave who had saved her, but she saw the sword resting a little way away from where she stood and realised that whilst his had a broad, flat blade, this one was longer and thinner. The handle was plain, with a pummel long enough for two hands to easily grip it.

_But then who could it be?_ She wondered, _there shouldn't be anyone else here . . . except._ She pushed herself up onto her knees and glanced around with her eyes narrowed to see through the smoke. Spotting the sword again, she also saw the stranger.

The sword's owner bent down and lifted it up, tucking it easily away at his side before turning to face her. He was about her age, but a head taller with long silver hair, garbed in black trousers and a tight fitting black tunic with no sleeves and yellow trim.

When he turned around she gasped and slipped back down onto her knees, her mouth falling open and mouthing a name that she didn't seem able to verbalise. His green eyes locked with hers and his face was split with a broad smile that took the edge off of the otherwise sharp features.

"Hello there Lirael." He commented and held out a hand to help her up.

"Riku . . ." she breathed, and let him pull her back up onto her feet. But he didn't stop there, drawing her close he held her close to him and kissed her. Shocked, but not entirely horrified, she let his arms drape around her waist and kissed him back.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7:

"No . . ." Reno gasped, the cameras were beginning to clear and the image of the two filled the screen. Lirael, wrapped up in the arms of the stranger and embraced in a passionate kiss far superior to any display of emotion that Knave had seen her bestow upon Reno in the time that he had known them. "No . . ." he repeated, dumbstruck.

As they watched the two broke away but she still remained in his arms, her head lolling on his shoulder as they spoke. A little way away Hakujou was standing with her mouth forming a large 'o' shape, but not saying of doing anything to stop them.

Knave glanced away from the screen to Reno, who hadn't so much as blinked since they had got a visual on the scene. The Turk's eyes were so wide that they watered, and his fists clenched so tight that they had turned white.

"NO!" the other man screamed and smashed both hands into the control panel, smashing it in a shower of sparks that sent a strange yellow glow through the dark room. Panting, he closed his eyes and tears ran freely across the man's face. Shuddering with barely controlled emotion, he repeated the word over and over again.

"Reno . . ." Knave spoke up, his voice low. The other man looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown. He knew that Lirael was important to him but had never suspected that she meant that much to him. Was this the response that an overprotective boyfriend would have? He understood that he was devastated, but there must be something going on here that he as an outsider to the group was unaware of.

"That man!" Reno spat, sheer fury in his voice, "How dare he come back now, how dare he come here and take away what's mine!"

Unsure of what to say, Knave looked up at the screen again. Hakujou, Lirael and the stranger were all speaking together now, it looked like the winged girl knew who he was as well. Tactfully, he shut off the screen and plunged the room into the semi-dark state in which they had found it.

In the dark, he could hear Reno still muttering to himself, repeating words over and over again as is working up to something in his head. Then, suddenly he stopped talking altogether and drew one of his guns, weighing it in his hands.

Reno had never liked Knave, the two of them were such vastly different people that he would have been hard pressed to get along with the stranger at the best of times. But like most things, he had done it because Lirael had wanted him to.

Before the two of them had met and he'd fallen in love, he had lived a much different life. Born and raised on the streets of Midgar, life had been cruel. The wealthy prospered on the upper levels whilst those without money were forced to scrape a meagre existence beneath the plates that blotted out the sky, it was there amidst the grime and the smog that he had been forged.

A young boy at the tender age of eleven he had been without a home or a family, alone in the world. In that bleak environment the only option had been to steel himself against the dangers and become as terrible as those who would seek to harm him. When another child had tried to steal part of his meal one evening, he had used a shard of glass to slit his throat and cast him onto the road as a warning. After that even the larger gangs had stayed away.

But the continued animosity between himself and the others also drew the attention of the Shinra Corporation, the principle power within the city and dominant force. Orders were given to capture him and bring the youth before the President, who had taken one look at him and decided that Reno would suit a life in his personal guard. A shady unit called the Turks whose jobs ranged from bodyguards to hitmen.

Then his world had been destroyed a few years later and he'd found himself on the refugee ship heading to Disney Castle. Everyone around him was scared and panicking but he remained silent and angry, eager to take his revenge upon those responsible.

It was then that _she_ had entered his life, and he had agreed to travel with her. Keeping her safe became his main responsibility and slowly the anger and the drive to kill had been replaced with love. Or at least something like love, as close to it as someone born on the streets of Midgar and trained to kill could come to feel.

But now all of that was draining away, and as he thought about the image that had filled the monitor only a few seconds ago his blood began to run hot with pure fury and in that moment of anger a decision was made.

_She belongs to me. If she will not be mine then she wouldn't be anybody's!_

He would kill her. But first he would kill everyone that she had come to love, stripping away her friends and her family until nothing remained but her miserable life. And then he would take that as well.

"Reno, are you alright?" Knave asked again, his voice soft and caring.

The Turk looked up at the blue haired stranger and a smile played across his lips. He would be the first to die, after all Lirael had insisted that they bring him along despite his misgivings on the matter, evidently he was more important to her than he was.

Without even changing position, Reno raised the gun smoothly and fired.

The bullet sheered through flesh and bone and burst through the back of Knave's left shoulder, splattering crimson blood against the far wall. The second shot would have struck him clean between the eyes had the swordsman not had the presence of mind to throw himself backwards and roll behind a pillar.

The emergency lighting in the room began to flicker, casting shadows in all directions.

Knave pushed himself up against the back of the white stone pillar and clutched his shoulder tightly, shocked and bewildered at what had just happened. He called out, desperate to understand what was going on, but was greeted with another round of shots that thudded harmlessly into the other side of the pillar. Knave was already gone, dartng away into the shadows.

Reno walked to the centre of the room and began to cast his gaze around, trying to work out where the other man could be hiding. His voice taking on a mad edge as he spoke aloud, trying to goad the other into revealing himself.

"You're a strange one Knave, a real mystery. Merlin says that you're touched by the Kingdom Hearts, but it's done you a fat lot of good so far, eh?"

Ripping the sleeve away from the wound, Knave used the material to bind and stop the bleeding. Flexing the arm he felt sharp jabs of pain run the length of his left side and gritted his teeth to stop himself from crying out. He realised then that he was unarmed, his sword dropped when the first shot had been fired, was now lying on the floor a short way away from him, but in clear line of fire should he move to claim it.

"Want to know what I think?" Reno continued, "I think that it's all a load of crap! Your meeting Lirael, and the way she just happened to take a liking to you . . . it's pretty obvious that you planned it all from the start."

Using his good hand Knave began to work at the clasp on his belt, unfastening it and waiting a moment before throwing it as hard as he could against the far wall. The metal clasp and tough leather made a slapping sound as they struck the cement, and Reno spun on the spot to send another three shots sailing off into the darkness.

Whilst his back was turned the swordsman made a dash for the sword, scooping it up with his good hand and throwing himself behind another pillar just as Reno realised what was happening and almost nailed him at the last moment.

"Clever boy." Reno shouted, ensuring that he was heard, "I didn't think you had it in you to pull a stunt like that, but I stand corrected."

Clasping the sword to his chest, Knave peered around the pillar to get a look at his enemy before pulling back into the shadows. How many bullets had he fired so far? Ten? Eleven? How many in a clip?

There was no way that he could take Reno on head to head with just a sword. He had to find some way to make the other man reload, and then try to use that momentary lapse to his advantage. Trouble was that it meant giving him more of a target than Knave would have liked.

---

Lirael broke free of the kiss and stared up at the silver-haired vision before her. Strong arms held her close but gave her room to stand on her own, supporting instead of trapping her small form.

Then she drew back her hand and slapped him across the face, a loud ringing blow. He didn't flinch away from it, simply turning his head to one side and letting her strike him. A large red mark slowly formed where she had struck over one cheek.

He rubbed it lightly with one hand. "I guess that I deserve that," the man commented without much remorse and he let go of her, stepping away.

Meeting her eyes for only a few seconds, he blinked slowly and then turned around and vanished from the room, taking the stairs up onto the rooftop and away. Leaving Lirael and Hakujou alone in the silence of the room.

Slowly Lirael's hand traced her lips where he had kissed her as if in a dream.

"Him." Hakujou commented dryly and turned to follow the direction through which he had left. Evidently he was heading to the roof for a reason and it made sense to investigate it for themselves. After all he had never been known to waste their time before, if he was there the chances were good that so was their goal.

"Lirael?" She called softly without response, and then again in a louder voice. "Lirael, come on, we need to check out the roof too."

The raven haired girl blinked as if waking from a dream and nodded once

"Yes," she added quickly to cover her slip, "let's go."

---

Seeing a blur of movement to his left, Reno spun and fired once before losing sight of his target in the darkness. Again behind him and another two bullets sprayed out aimlessly, striking the controls and sending a shower of sparks that illuminated that side of the room long enough for him to see that his former ally wasn't there any more.

Another blur almost had him fire, but he paused and held back. Realisation dawned and that slow smile returned to his face as he finally understood the other's tactics.

"I know you're counting shots Knave!" he called jovially, and began to stalk up the length of the room, peeking behind one pillar after another. "And it won't work. Sooner or later you'll have to come out of hiding and face me."

Reno checked behind another pillar, sweeping the area with his gun outstretched before him ready to fire as soon as he found his quary. Yet as he lent around another, Knave's sword slammed around the edge towards him and forced him to jump backwards at speed. The sharp metal severed his tie and caught a strand of red hair but failed to harm him in any way.

Knave brought the sword around again quickly and caught his gun-arm, sending the weapon spinning out into the darkness. Then he twisted the grip and struck him across the face with the pummel, using a blunt weapon in the hopes of avoiding a death.

Three swift blows to the Turk's face sent him sprawling to the round, where he swept away Knave's legs and the other man fell atop of him. Clutching at each other they rolled the length of the room, grappling and trying to gain the upper hand. Reno was smaller than Knave, less toned or agile, but the swordsman was wounded and could only use one arm properly. Together they struck the far wall and it was only a few seconds difference in speed between them that saw Knave pin Reno against the wall with his good hand, his other hanging loosely to one side.

"Get off of me!" Reno spat and tried to kick out, but Knave lifted him higher and applied pressure to his throat that quelled his actions.

"What the hell are you doing?" Knave blurted out, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief but clouded by the pain he was feeling in his left side. Despite his best efforts, the wound continued to bleed, and he was beginning to feel woozy.

Tears streamed Reno's face, "I love her!" he yelled savagely, "but she refuses the see it! She'd rather be swept into the arms of that bastard than look at me." The tears were flowing steadily now, and Knave began to lower him to the ground.

"Reno, I'm sorry . . ." the other man started, but no sooner did his grip loosen than Reno broke free and grabbed him by the throat, squeezing with both hands with all his might.

"Too caring Knave! You'd make a terribly Turk!" he squeezed harder still and the blue haired swordsman began to gasp and hack as he tried to breathe. "First I'll kill you, and then I'll kill her!" Reno shouted like a mantra, over and over again.

_He's mad_, Knave thought, _and there's nothing I can do to stop him_.

As things began to take on a dreamy edge, he realised that he was passing out. Somewhere at the edge of his consciousness, an image of fire and intense heat bubbled to the surface, and he wondered idly where it had come from. Then his strength left him and he passed out.

Standing over his unconscious form, Reno lifted him like a rag doll and threw him through the monitor, which shattered in a spectacular array of sparks and glass. Knave's body fell downwards before striking a walkway and finally landing with a splash in the fountain within the main hall below. Face down, he floated there.

Reno threw his sword after him, which clattered to the ground and stuck upright instead of breaking like he had hoped it would. Watching Knave's body for a moment, he took in the moment before turning and sweeping from the room.

First Knave . . . next Lirael.


	8. Chapter 8

_NOTE: Sorry it took so long guys, I've been extremely busy lately._

CHAPTER 8:

Hakujou and Lirael stepped out onto the rooftop of the facility and looked around. The silver hared newcomer was standing close to the edge of the rail, looking out across the landscape that the group had skimmed over to land earlier. He appeared to be looking for something, but they couldn't see what it was for the life of them.

He turned as they approached and lent on the rail, waving them over. "Well timed, it looks like I'll need our help for this."

"And why should we help you?" Hakujou retorted quickly as she came to a stop just in front of him. The pretty winged-girl seemed incredibly annoyed and her disdain for the man was evident from the way in which she addressed him, her normal casual attitude had vanished to be replaced by a harsher tone.

"Come now Hakujou, you know as well as I do that I wouldn't have hung around to be found if it weren't important." He retorted quickly, then focused his attention on Lirael.

Stomping her foot and huffing to herself, Hakujou waited to see what would happen next. She knew the history between the pair of them better than most, and resented being so easily ignored in the face of it. After all, it was his fault that things had gone awry.

But Lirael wasn't looking at either of them, her attention seemed to be focused upon a spot hanging just outside of reach in mid-air. There didn't appear to be anything special about it, yet something tugged at the edge of her senses when she glanced over it. A warm feeling that was comparable to finding something thought lost for good.

One hand glittered for a second, and the keyblade appeared unbidden. Slowly raising it towards the space, there was an explosion of light for a brief moment, and as if a curtain had been removed, a large keyhole appeared in that spot.

Yet not like any keyhole ever seen before, this appeared to be a kink in regular space, a keyhole shaped light that floated above the ground and appeared to possess more dimensions that any object should. As if in a trance, Lirael stared at it unblinking.

"The Keyblade was made to seal worlds from the Heartless. To do that a keyhole on each world must be closed in order to prevent their entry." The newcomer explained to the pair of them, but they weren't really listening.

As he spoke Lirael raised the blade again and a thin stream of light shot silently from the tip of her blade, piercing the keyhole dead centre. The light expanded to encompass everything for a second, and forced Hakujou to close her eyes against the glare, and then she could have sworn she heard a faint clicking sound before the hole vanished.

"With that done there should only be a few Heartless left to mop up here." He announced proudly and turned to move off whilst their attention was distracted, but Hakujou caught him by the shoulder and spun him around on the spot.

"Not so fast Riku!" she called, and held him in place. "Where do you think you're going? You think that you can just burst back onto the scene like that vanish again? You've got some answering to do buddy."

Riku looked over her shoulder at Lirael, who was still in a daze as she looked at the spot where the keyhole had appeared. As if coming out of a dream, she seemed to slowly come back to her senses, and for the first time since arriving on the roof, realised that he was there.

She blushed a little, "Riku . . ." she whispered the name.

Not so long ago the pair of them had been lovers, inseparable from each other. Each had given the bother their heart and promised to always be there for the other, and they had been happy. But then suddenly and without warning he had vanished, leaving no message or clue as to his destination. The following tide of emotion had almost crippled her, leaving her both lonely and vulnerable.

That had been two years ago, and now he had wondered back into her life without a word and expected to take off again without an explanation of why.

Hakujou had been her friend and confident even back then, she had seen first hand the damage his leaving had done her, and had resolved never to let it happen again.

"I don't need to explain myself to you." Riku replied curtly, and brushed the girl's hand from his shoulder in a smooth motion.

"Hey!" She responded, taking a threatening step forwards as he took one back.

"I did what I thought was best."

"You left her alone!"

The pair argued as Lirael watched, herself unable to say a word. It was as if her mind had gone completely blank. Here before her was a man that she had loved above all others, but who had simply vanished one day without a word. She should hate him for it, but some rebellious part of her heart had leapt the moment she had realised who was kissing her. She could not deny that she loved him still, but the sight of him brought with it a feeling of pain at the betrayal he had shown.

"I'm gone!" he spat, spinning on the spot and stalking off, ignoring the abuse Hakujou was hurling his way as he walked towards the stairs back into Balmb.

One hand on the knob, he was about to disappear again forever. It was perhaps that fear that prompted Lirael to call his name aloud, and to her surprise he froze in place.

"Riku . . ." she repeated again and this time he visibly shivered.

"Don't . . . don't ask me to stay," he replied after a moment that stretched on forever. The hand on the door was gripping the knob so tight that his knuckles were turning white. "Don't ask me, I need to do this."

"Why?" she heard herself ask, as if somebody else were using her lips.

He didn't move from the spot, still standing in the same way as when they had begun, but she could see him begin to waver slightly.

"Because I am doing this for you. Because there are secrets that you can't tell me and without them I can't keep you safe. That's why I left, I had to discover the truth for myself before I could commit myself into your service."

"I never asked for your service, only your love."

He sagged as if defeated and let the hand on the door slide to his side. "You always had that." He whispered.

"Then stay with me," she reached out a hand towards him, the gap between them feeling like it spanned time instead of space. Without a word he turned to look at her and for the first time she saw the sense of longing in his eyes that was heart wrenching. Even Hakujou didn't say anything, she had stepped away from the pair respectfully, giving them the time and space they needed.

He looked at her hand, and she could see the sea of emotions that waged beneath the surface. Every ounce of his being wanted to take her hand, but there was something holding him back. He took a step towards her, hands clenched by his sides.

"I need to know, is there a place for me?" He asked.

"Always." She replied, and almost as she spoke the words she found herself in his arms again, crying as he embraced her. His hands held her tightly to his chest and she couldn't breathe, but she wouldn't have it any other way. It was like a part of herself had been restored and everything was right with the world.

Standing to one side, Hakujou watched the strange reunion and was forced to wonder quite what Reno was going to think when he saw that Riku was back in the picture.

Bobbing face down in the pool, Knave could feel his strength ebbing away. Unable to breathe he was running out of time, but he couldn't muster the energy to roll onto his back, everything hurt so badly.

_Common, _he thought to himself, _if you don't move soon you're going to drown_.

But another part of him thought, _would that be so bad?_

Since waking up in Traverse Town he had seen nothing but violence and been nothing but a pawn in the affairs of others. His own goals, it seemed meant little in the scale of things, and he had awoken into a nightmare of men and monsters. Would it really be so bad to let himself die? After all, it wasn't as if he had anything to loose.

No past, no memories, nothing.

Blood had seeped into the water, he could taste it. How many places had the glass cut him when he went through that screen? Perhaps he would die of those wounds even if he did somehow find the strength to get out of the water.

Then an image of Lirael swum through his mind, and Reno's promise to kill her replayed in his head. She needed to be warned, everybody thought that the Turk was just another one of them and he would use that fact to get close to her before delivering the finishing blow. Somebody had to head him off before he got there, and he was the only one who knew the truth.

Slowly, with great effort, one hand broke the surface and gripped the statue in the centre of the fountain. A second later the other followed suit and with a rush he pulled himself up out of the water, a rush of air reaching his lungs as he gasped and spluttered.

The light seemed brighter than it should, and it stung his eyes for a moment. Tenuously he rubbed them until he could see again, then took stock of the situation.

Things weren't as bad as he had feared, the glass had indeed cut him, but none of the wounds were fatal. He'd not been shot or broken anything either, though his left arm hurt like hell from the fall. Beside the fountain, his sword was lying buried hilt-up in the ground.

Swimming to the edge, he pulled himself out and lay in a wet panting heap on the cold metal floor. One hand wrapped around the handle of the blade and pulled it free.

Lirael held tightly of Riku's hand as they descended the stairs back into the building. Returning the way through which they had ascended, it seemed to be a much shorter journey. Or perhaps that was just the way she felt now that she had him back.

With the world now safely locked away from the Heartless, and the stronger of the monsters slain, the lesser breeds had fled. Now all that remained in Balmb Garden were the three of them and their companions waiting downstairs. Power had been returned to most areas, and the bright lighting added to the feeling of security.

She has sealed her first world. It had been easier than she had imagined it would be when Merlin had explained what she had to do to her. Her mission was to travel between the worlds infected by the Heartless one by one and lock their keyholes to make them safe again. Without the ability to bring the Heartless to bear, the one summoning them would be unable to use them as an army, rendering him a far smaller threat.

For the first time since she had set out from Disney Castle, things were beginning to look positive. She had succeeded in her first mission, and she had gained a powerful ally in her fight in the form of Riku. A man who she had never stopped loving even in all of the time they had been apart.

At that thought she squeezed his hand a little tighter, which prompted him to look down at her and smile. She really had missed that smile.

Still smiling, they entered the elevator and headed for the ground floor.

Reno had found himself a comfortable spot not far from the control room where he could get a perfect angle down onto the elevator. Carefully loading his pistol, he took aim on the door just as the indicator light began to tick itself down towards his level.

Narrowing his eyes, he took sight and waited.

Running his tongue around the inside of his mouth he relished the coppery taste of blood that lingered there from his scuffle with Knave. At some point in the battle he had taken a blow to the jaw. Nothing serious, in fact he was surprised that the swordsman hadn't been able to hit him harder, but a clear reminder that he had already removed one obstacle in his path.

A bell chimed lightly as the elevator stopped at the correct floor, and the door began to slide neatly open.

Smiling, Reno lent forwards and began to seek his target.

As the lift door swung open, Lirael brushed up against Riku for a quick hug before leading him out of the cramped interior to the spacious floor beyond.

Her right foot was just about to touch the tiled metal floor when somebody shouted a warning and she was suddenly pulled forcefully off her feet.

Riku, gripping her tightly, pulled her back inside of the lift and spun her around, shielding her with his body and pulling her tight against him as a shot ricochet off of the doorframe. Another shot followed suit quickly, but this one bounced harmlessly off of a magical barrier Hakujou threw up around the entrance.

Somebody was shooting at them, but who? Lirael's eyes tried to follow the bullets back to their source but Riku, who was pressing her into a corner, trying his best to shield her, obstructed her line of sight.

The sound of shots could still be heard, but no bullets were currently hitting the shield. Hakujou, taking one quick glance at the pair of them, stepped forwards out of the lift and yelled at him to close the door behind her. Despite Lirael's protests, his fist slammed down on the control panel and the elevator started to rise.

Glancing around, Hakujou quickly found the source of the shots, and was in time to see a blood soaked Knave hit the ground, his left side riddled with bullets. Towering above him, Reno casually reached inside of his long coat and drew his second pistol, taking careful aim at the fallen man's head.

"You shouldn't have come back." The Turk's voice carried across the distance between them, "picked the wrong ship to catch a lift with buddy!"

But before he could pull the trigger, Knave lashed out with his free hand and grabbed the gun, pulling it to one side and forcing the shot to go wide. Reno laughed and kicked him in the face with his boot, bringing the gun around for another shot. This time the swordsman was too far-gone to fight back.

Hakujou didn't know what was happening, but she was certain that it had been Knave's voice that had warned Riku of the attack. Unable to grasp the situation she did the only thing she could do, casting the first spell that came to mind, she used magic to physically pull the two of them apart. Reno flew back into a wall and stopped, but Knave was unconscious, and slid off of the walkway.

Running forwards, Hakujou leapt up and snagged his limp form out of the air. As she hit the ground again she spun around to keep Reno in her line of sight, but he had already vanished.

Not that it mattered, he couldn't get off of the planet without a ship, and there was no way he'd be able to take off in theirs without a co-pilot. They'd find him soon enough.

In her arms Knave stirred and groaned. He was cut up pretty badly, patches of glass were still sticking out of his skin and his clothes were ripped to shreds. On top of that he had several broken ribs, and bullet wounds covering most of his body.

This was beyond her magic to heal. If he didn't get help soon then Knave was going to die, no two ways about it. Cradling his head in her lap, she cast what minor spells she could to stave off the worst of it, and pushed his mind into an enchanted sleep. The pain must have been terrible, she reasoned, better that he dream.

But even as he lay there, she could see that he was slipping away. By sheer force of will he had lasted this long, to warned them of Reno's treachery. The cause of which would remain a mystery unless they caught him, but she had a pretty good idea.

His breathing coming in short gasps, Hakujou held onto the swordsman tightly as it slowed, and finally stopped.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9:

_Falling, falling down away from the heat and the fire._

_Falling down from the window with the glass shimmering around him like ice._

_Falling through darkness as if chased by a shadow he couldn't see._

Knave opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling above him. It was made of wooden planks that were criss-crossed by a large beam, blinking his eyes focused on the face of a girl looking down at him. As her features swam into view he managed a weak smile.

"Glad you're safe." He whispered in a weak voice.

Lirael shook her head and smiled down at him. "He's awake!" she called, and then in a softer tone, "You almost didn't make it. Those wounds you took were pretty bad."

"Reno. He went mad, tried to kill you." Knave tried to sit up in bed but failed miserably as the bandages on his side tightened against his chest, winding him. Groaning he slid back down, his head swimming. Where was he?

Easing him back down into a better position, Lirael arranged a pillow behind his head and then tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand. "We couldn't do anything to heal you, so we brought you back to Traverse as quickly as possible. Merlin patched you up with some powerful spells, but it was touch and go for a while back there." She favoured him with another grin before the colour drained from her face, she seemed to be avoiding talking about it, but he had to know.

"What about Reno?" the swordsman asked carefully.

She shook her head. "He escaped us, but we left in the only Gummi Ship, so he must be trapped on the planet. We'll go back and deal with him later, when you're well."

Knave shook his head. "When we were looking for the control centre we found a docking bay with six or seven smaller ships in there. He'll be long gone."

It looked for a moment like Lirael was going to cry, she lent forwards and kissed his forehead lightly, brushing her lips against his warm skin. He felt a great wave of relief that she was safe, after all he had gone through. As she touched him the image of a keyblade flashed through his mind again, just like it had done on the rooftop when they had first met, and back in the alleyway where he had woken up, but he dismissed it. After all, it had only been for the barest of seconds. He wasn't well.

The door opened and Merlin entered bearing a tray laden with cups, behind him trailed Hakujou and the white haired warrior he had heard her call Riku. The winged girl carried a large teapot, which looked full and heavy.

Smiling when she saw his gaze, Hakujou's wings fluttered a little and she perched lightly on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like someone tried to kill me?" Knave countered without missing a beat.

She giggled and winked, "was that the monosyllabic Knave making a _joke_? My ears deceive me." She stood to give Merlin better access to his bedside, "seriously though, you did well to give us that warning, thanks."

As Merlin checked his pulse and temperature, Riku moved around and took Lirael's hand lightly in his own. She lent into him without thinking and he put his arm around her. Unsure of what to think about the situation, Knave was forced to admit that the two seemed to make a more natural couple than she and Reno had. There had always been something forced about their time together.

"I don't think we've met." Riku lent over him, "my name is Riku."

"I know, saw you on the monitors. I'm Knave," they shook hands.

The two sized each other up. Both were swordsmen and held a considerable amount of skill, but in his present state it was impossible for Knave to tell which was the better man. He hoped that he would never have to find out.

Pressing a firm hand on his shoulder, Merlin pushed him back down and spoon-fed him something that tasted sweet. It didn't require chewing and was easy to swallow, but still he felt like some kind of child to have to be cared for in such a manner.

"I suppose you knew?" He asked Merlin later when the pair of them were alone, "I mean about Riku being on Balamb and how Reno would react?"

The old magician shook his head sadly, "My sight is being clouded by a power greater than my own, I could only see the barest details of that future. I knew only that your adventure would begin in that place and at that time, everything else is new to me."

"Right," Knave had sighed, only half believing him, and fallen asleep again.

"Are you sure about this?" Lirael asked, the Keyblade held lightly in her right hand.

It had been a full week since the incident with Reno and Knave was looking a lot better, but quite why he had arranged to meet her in one of the larger of Merlin's rooms was unknown. All of the furniture had been carefully pushed to one side to make space, though for what she wasn't sure.

"Of course I am sure. Attack me." Knave nodded to her. "I need to know if I am well enough to travel again, and you need some pointers on how to use that thing of yours. If it looks like a sword then it should be used like one."

"Well . . ."

His own sword still in its sheath in his left hand, he motioned for her to begin.

With graceful speed Lirael covered the distance between them and brought her blade around hard. Aiming just off to the left of her friend so that she wouldn't hurt him, but quicker than her eye could follow he drew his sword and parried the attack, flipping the Keyblade out of her hand and catching it with his spare hand.

"You're gripping it too tightly, it should rest comfortably in your grip." He tossed the blade back to her and nodded once. "Again."

This time she went in low, hoping to make him lose his footing, but he stepped to one side and brought his own blade around in a lazy arc that clipped her bottom with the flat of his blade.

"You're going for power when you should be focusing on speed. Your advantage lies in being able to handle that thing faster than my sword, there's almost no weight to it."

"Kick his ass Lirael!" Hakujou called from the opposite side of the room where she and Riku sat observing the lesson. The winged girl was still worried about Knave's injuries and had followed them to keep an eye on him. Despite how he acted, he wasn't anywhere near as strong as he had been yet.

This time Lirael got seven close strokes in before he slid his sword along the length of her blade and twisted it aside idly. The tip of his weapon hovered above her throat for a second before he stepped back and smiled.

She came at him again, finding that whilst his reflexes with the sword appeared to be second nature, she was able to keep him on his toes by manipulating the blade in tighter circles by moving her wrist. The Keyblade arced close to his face and Knave rolled his head away from the blade smoothly before stepping back.

Hakujou applauded, Riku however simply sat and watched in silence.

"Better," the blue haired warrior smiled.

Lirael looked at him, her face serious. "But this isn't what a battle is like. When you fought Reno it wasn't about niceties, you used every weapon at your disposal and didn't pull your blows. Again, and this time for real."

Knave looked confused, "Lirael, I . . ."

But before he could finish that train of thought she attacked, forcing him to parry and step back towards the center of the room to give himself more room. This time she came at him from the side, feigning an attack to his right and instead coming in from the left. He swirled around to meet the blow but was caught in the chest by a low-level spell that had enough force to push him back another step.

"This is what a real battle is like." Riku commented, his eyes not leaving the fighters. "Lirael may be the Keymaster but her magic is also a powerful weapon to command, Knave may be a good swordsman but he can't pull the same tricks. If it came to a straight fight then he'd be in trouble."

Hakujou looked from him to the fighters, not a word passed her lips.

Pushing the advantage, Lirael cast another spell but this time he saw it coming and rolled out of its path, the energy bolt smashing harmlessly into a wall some feet away and sending up a cloud of debris.

Back on his feet in an instant, Knave closed the distance between them that she had worked to hard to create, and drew the combat back into close quarters.

Riku sat up, surprised. He hadn't thought that the swordsman was that skilled, in a matter of seconds he had challenged the odds.

Three powerful strokes sent the Keyblade spinning away onto the floor, and a fourth would have cut her in two had the blade not stopped dead an inch from her nose. The shield she had erected wavered for a second, and she reached up to touch the blade, sending electricity sparking down its length in an attempt to make him drop it, but to her surprise Knave tightened his grip and held on. Lirael looked up into the eyes of her sparing partner and saw for the first time that his expression was glazed and breathing heavy. For the first time since they had begun she realised that he was still wounded.

"Remember," he spoke between gasps, "Magic will only take you so far, and every spell you weave weakens the caster. You could make a barrier around yourself and it would only last as long as you had the energy to keep the magic going, in the end my blade would have cut you down . . . it . . ."

He stepped back and almost slipped over, exhausted.

_You shouldn't have done that_, he told himself, _you're still not well._

But he had wanted to make sure that she could take care of herself, Reno was still out there somewhere and he wasn't going to stop until he got what he was after. Maybe next time there wouldn't be anybody else around to help her out. He could come at any time, from anywhere and snatch her life away unless she was ready.

He felt light-headed, Hakujou was behind him holding him straight.

"I'll be alright, just over did it, that's all." He reassured her.

"Sure you will." She replied as she steered him out of the room, heading towards his bed, she was sure he'd feel better after a little rest.

Watching them go, Riku bent down and picked up his sword. Eyeing the detail on the blade, he tested the weight and read the inscription from which he had taken his name. Knave hadn't used any magic at all over the course of their adventure, even the smallest child could manage a basic casting but he had refrained from anything of that nature.

Yet he held his own against Lirael.

Interesting.


End file.
